The Wolf and the Swordsman
by wolfpup026
Summary: When Kanda was young, he became friends with a young exorcist-in-training named Diane. But when she leaves the order, what happens when he meets her again eight years later? KandaXOC
1. A Strange Sort of Girl

**A/N: First story ever! Yayy! Hope you like it =]**

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-man is property of Katsura Hoshina, and I do not own it in any way because if I did, Kanda would be the main character and appear with his shirt off in every episode.=]**

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**1. A Strange Sort of Girl**

A small girl of about 8 years old walked home through the forest. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the thick pine scent of the trees. Diane had always loved the forest. _My forest, _she thought to herself. Suddenly, she whistled, and a big black wolf came bounding out of the trees. On his forehead, there was a pale green cross that contrasted with his black fur. "Hey, Shadow," she called. The wolf, Shadow, jumped up and licked her face. "Where've you been?" she asked the animal. _Hunting,_ the wolf told her, as Diane rubbed his head.

Diane was a strange girl in many ways. At first glance, her appearance was normal enough, with her long black hair and her sparkling, emerald-green eyes. But when you looked closely, you could see the green cross on her forehead, same as the one on Shadow. Even wierder, she had the ears and tail of a wolf. Diane had been born with there, um, _abnormalties_, which had caused her parents to abandon her at birth. When she was three days old, the wolf pack living in the forest had found her, alone and dying of the cold and starvation. The alpha female, or boss female, of the pack, Frostfur, had taken her in and raised her as one of her own. That was when she met Shadow, one of Frostfur's pups. He had had the same mark on his forehead as she did, and the two soon found out that they could communicate mentally with each other. Diane and Shadow soon became inseparable, so when Alex and Laura Elkridge found Diane 3 years later and adopted her, Shadow had come to live with her in their small cottage on the edge of town. Fortunately, the cottage was right on the edge of the forest, so they could visit the pack anytime. They had live there in peace for 5 years now, with Diane's foster parents.

"Mom! Dad! We're home!" Diane called, as the two emerged into the clearing where the little cottage stood. Alex Elkridge, Diane's foster father, rushed out of the house to give her a hug. Wrapped in her father's comforting arms, Diane felt safe and content.

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**A/N: Okay, so the 1st chapter's finally finished! I know this kinda sucked, but it'll get better(I hope). By the way, Diane's home is somewhere in northern China, though her foster parents have an English last name. o.O Kanda and the others will probably be introduced in the 2nd or 3rd chapter.**

**Rewiews would be great!!!**

**Luv yas3**


	2. Attack

**A/N: Yay new chapter! Hopefully it'll turn out longer than the first one.**

**Dedicated to mimicsmaze for reviewing! Cuz i checked the traffic page and there's been more than 30 hits for this story, except no one but her bothered to review.=P**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I still don't own D. Gray-man. *sob***

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**2. Attack **

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

The piercing scream woke Diane in the middle of the night. She sat bolt upright in bed.

"What's going on?"she whipspered to Shadow.

_I think the house is being attacked, _the wolf told her.

"What? Who the hell would want to attack us?"

Without waiting for a reply, Diane jumped out of bed and headed downstairs.

_Do you smell that?_ Shadow asked her.

She sniffed the air. "Yeah. Smells like...ewww. It smells like something rotting."

_Smells like death, _he replied.

When the two arrived downstairs at the living room, they found a scene of destruction. One of the cottage walls had been smashed to rubble. A huge, monstrous thing, round with guns protruding out of it, was hovering in midair in the room. All of its guns were pointed at Laura Elkridge, who was lying admist the rubble.

"MOM!!" Diane screamed.

Her mother turned to look at her, with pain and fear in her eyes.

"Honey...your father is...already gone...run...save yourself....." Before Diane could react, the monster shot a weird, glowing purple bullet at her mother.

"NO!" she shrieked. The bullet hit her square in the chest. As Diane ran towards her, black pentacles started appearing on her skin. Within seconds, she had turned to dust.

Tears welled in Diane's eyes. "Mom...no," she whispered, "don't leave me."

But she didn't have time to break down and start sobbing, as the monster was now aiming its guns at her.

_The pack is here,_ Shadow said. _They want to protect us._

Sure enough, the wolf pack that had been Diane's family had arrived at the ruined cottage.

"No!" Diane screamed. "You'll get killed! Run!"

But they wouldn't listen. The monster started firing. Diane watched, helpless and sobbing, as it shot down all of her beloved wolves. Finally, only her and Shadow were left.

"Not Shadow..."she whispered to the monster. "...you might kill me, but you'll never hurt him."

Suddenly, Diane was filled with a murderous rage. She wanted to kill, to rip and tear apart this monster and get revenge for all her loved ones it had killed. The cross on her forehead started glowing.

"What the..."

The golden light grew brighter and brighter, until it enveloped her whole body. Diane felt her body change. Her hands and feet turned to paws, and her teeth grew hard and sharp. Until, at last, a large gray and white wolf stood among the rubble. Through some long-lost ancient instinct, Diane knew what to do. Growling, she lunged at the monster.

Her teeth easily penetrated the steel flesh of the monster, and she started ripping chunks of metal out of it. Dark red blood spurted out of it until, without warning, it exploded. As Diane fell to the ground, victorious, exhausted and human once more, the walls of the cottage, weakened by the explosion, collapsed on top of her and Shadow.

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Two men wearing long beige coats, one tall and lean and the other rather short and fat, walked through a small town in northern China.

"Well, no sign of akuma anywhere in this village," the tall one told his colleague.

"Damn, this was such a boring trip. No sign of innocence or akuma anywhere," the other complained.

An explosion sounded in the distance. Wordlessly, the two men looked at each other, then ran toward the sound.

Five minutes later, they reached the edge of town, finding a large pile of rubble and smoke where a cottage once stood.

"Holy crap! You think an akuma did this?" the fat one asked.

"Dunno, Tim. We should probably go look for survivors." the tall man said.

With that, the two approached the remains of the cottage and started rummaging through the rubble.

A few minutes later:

"James! C'mere! I think I found someone!" Tim called.

James came and helped clear away the rubble, revealing a small girl of about 8, with raven-black hair. He reached for her hand and took her pulse.

"She's still alive," he said.

"Holy shit!" Tim yelled suddenly.

"What?"

Excitedly, Tim brushed the bangs off her forehead, revealing the pale green cross embedded in her forehead.

"I think that's innocence! You think there was an akuma here and she destroyed it?"

"Definitely. Let's get her back to headquarters. She'll make a valuable exorcist."

**A/N: This was a fun chapter to write, despite the whole family getting killed part. Hoped you enjoyed!**

**Yeah so it seems quite a few people read this story, but only 1 reviewed. So even if you think this sucked and was a complete waste of your time, plzplzplz review and tell me what you think!**

**Btw, Diane is named after Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, wild animals, and the moon. She also had a pack of wolves that hunted with her.=]**


	3. The Black Order

**A/N: Woohoo! Another update! **

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own -man. *grrrrrr***

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**3. The Black Order**

Diane opened her eyes to find herself on a bed in a small room with whitewashed walls. _Huh? How'd I get here?_

"Hey Tim, she's awake!" Diane turned to find a tall man in a beige coat, sitting in a chair next to her bed.

Another man wearing the same coat as the first came in the room.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"You're in Germany, in one of the hospitals of the Black Order," one of the men told her.

"What?"

"You're house was attacked and destroyed by akuma, demons created by the Millenium Earl. When a person loses a loved one, the Millenium Earl calls their soul back to earth, and it becomes a demon, a tool of the Earl to kill humans. They can disguise themselves as humans, and have infiltrated society. However, you are a host of the innocence, a substance that can destroy akumas. So, you have the potential to become and exorcist, a person who destroys akumas, and save many lives," he explained to her kindly.

"Uhh..." Diane felt overwhelmed. Suddenly, she realized:

"Oh my god! Where's Shadow?" she exclaimed.

"Who?" asked Tim.

"He's a wolf, who lived with me back home."

Tim tried to break the news to her gently. "I'm sorry, girl, but he's probably dead now."

"No he's not! Shadow's alive! I can feel it!"

Tim and James looked at each other, puzzled. In a split second, Diane had leaped out of bed and ran for the open door. James reacted instinctively, jumping up and tackling her to the ground. _Ouch._

"Let me go, you bastard!" (She had a surprisingly foul mouth for an eight year old.) "I want to go home! I need to find Shadow!!!"

James clamped a hand over her mouth, but withdrew it quickly, bleeding.

"She bit me!"

As he tried to wipe his bleeding hand on his coat, Diane kicked his shin.

"OUCH! Why you little bitch-"

Tim was laughing so hard tears ran down his face.

"Stop laughing and get a rope so I can tie her up or something, idiot!" James shouted at him.

Tim obeyed, still chortling to himself.

It was going to be a _very_ long trip back.

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**A/N: Yay Kanda's finally here! At this time, Kanda and Lenalee are already at the order. Kanda's 10 and Lenalee's 8, and they're sort of friends. Also, Komui hasn't arrived yet, so Lenalee is still kinda depressed inside.**

Kanda sighed. He was walking around the halls of the Black Order aimlessly, bored out of his mind. His master, General Tiedol, had given him an afternoon off for his 'hard work.' However, his life at the Black Order consisted of training, eating, sleeping, and occasionally talking to Lenalee. So, with no training today, and as Lenalee was currently having tests run on her, he had absolutely nothing to do.

He heard a sudden commotion from downstairs. Curious, he followed the sound and arrived at the corridor where the main entrance into the Order was located. The gates at the entrance opened, and two finders entered the building, dragging a girl of about his age, maybe a bit younger, in with them. She had long black hair and bright green eyes. As he watched,the girl punched one of the finders in the face and bit the other's arm, drawing blood.

"OW! Damned little girl! We better get her to Leverrier's office."

Kanda laughed at the sight of the little girl beating up two grown men. _Those finders are really pathetic_, he thought to himself. _I wonder why they brought that girl here? Seems she really doesn't want to be here. Maybe she's a new exorcist?" _Kanda continued his walk, deciding that he would later find out more about her.

A while later, Kanda found himself walking up the hall towards Leverrier's office. The girl was chained to the wall outside of the office, with her hands handcuffed out on either side of her, the chains nailed to the wall, as if she were going to be crucified or something. _How horrible_.

Although Kanda wasn't the type of person to be friendly to strangers, he felt the urge to help this poor girl. She was struggling uselessly against her chains, looking defeated and miserable. Her face and arms were covered in cuts and bruises. He walked up to her.

The girl looked up at him with hope in her eyes.

"Can you help me?" she asked.

"Sure." Kanda noticed for the first time that the girl was quite pretty.

Kanda unsheated Mugen, the black katana that he kept with him at all times. Within seconds, he had sliced through the chains.

The girl looked at him with awe in her eyes. Kanda felt quite pleased with himself.

"Thank you so much, I-" she stopped suddenly, hearing the voices in the office grow closer.

"Where's the girl?"

"We chained up her outside, Chief, she's quite a nuisance really-"

As the door opened, the girl whispered to him "Crap! Run!"

A tall man with a large mustache, along with the finders, Tim and James, stepped out of the office to see two small figures in the distance, running as fast as they could.

"Shit! After them, you useless idiots!" Leverrier barked at the finders.

"Do you know where I can hide?" the girl asked him as they ran for their lives.

"In my room! Quick!" and so Kanda ran into his room, with the girl following him. He slammed the door and locked it. Kanda sank onto his bed, panting. The girl sat down next to him.

"Who are you?" he asked her.

"My name's Diane. Diane Elkridge. What's yours?"

"Kanda."

She smiled at him. "Nice to meet you. And thanks for saving me."

Kanda felt his face grow warm. "No problem."

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**A/N: Wow this was a pretty long chapter. Does Kanda seem kinda OOC? I'm trying to keep him in character, although my theory is that he was slightly nicer when he was younger than he is now.**

**Review Please? Pretty please with ice cream and cherries and a shirtless Kanda? =]**


	4. Sort of Like Home

**A/N: OMG I can't believe I forgot to write about Kanda and the finders' reaction to Diane's appearance!(her ears and tail, in case you've forgotten about that). argh im so stupid! *bangs head on keyboard***

**I'm trying to make Kanda less OOC for this chapter. Tell me if it works out =]**

**Thanks to Skitter and mimicsmaze for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own D. Gray-man =P**

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**4. Home-Sort of**

"Are you in training to become and exorcist?" Kanda asked her.

"Yeah, but I don't want to be here." Diane told him.

"Tch. Why not? Afraid of the akumas?"

Diane glared at him, green eyes glinting angrily. "Of course not! I'm not scared of anything!"

"Then why don't you want to be an exorcist?"

"It's a long story. You sure you want to know?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I lived with my foster parents in a cottage in China. There was this wolf, Shadow, who lived with me. He was my best friend, and after the akumas attacked our house, the finders found me and brought me here, but they left Shadow. I need to go back and find him. He's the only family I have left." A single tear slid down her face.

Kanda wanted to comfort her somehow, but didn't know what to do. Suddenly, there was a banging on his door.

"Open this door NOW!" a loud voice boomed from outside.

"Quick, hide!" Kanda whispered to Diane.

"Where?"

"Under the bed, idiot!" he hissed.

From underneath the bed, Diane saw Kanda open the door to reveal the 2 finders and a tall, mustached man.

"Have you seen a black -haired girl anywere?" he asked Kanda.

"No," he lied.

"Search his room!" the man commanded the finders.

It wasn't hard for the finders to find Diane (lol, finders find ppl, get it? sry that wasn't funny)under the bed. After all, it was the only place to hide in the room.

"Let me go, you stupid bastard!" she screamed.

"Take her to Hevlaska's chamber," Leverrier commanded.

"Yessir."

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Diane yelped as two long, white glowing hands grabbed and lifted her into the air. Multiple arms appeared out of nowhere, wrapping themselves around her. The cross on Diane's forehead started glowing gold. The creature these arms belonged to, Hevlaska, spoke.

_Synchronization...7%...15%...23%.._.39%...53%. _Your synchronization rate is 53%, Diane Elkridge._

Leverrier and the finders gasped. "What? But that's extremely low!"

_Her innocence fragment...is missing one of its rings. It is incomplete._

"What? Impossible! Will she still be able to become an exorcist?"

_Yes...I expect great things from you in the future...Diane Elkridge._

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Late that night, Diane lay awake in her room, thinking. The door had been locked on the outside, and she was to be accompanied with a finder everywhere she went, to prevent her escape.

_Shadow, can you hear me? _she called to him in her mind.

_Yes, I'm awake. Where are you?_ the voice in her mind replied.

_Thank god you're conscious. I was kidnapped by two men, and now I'm somewhere in Europe. You know that monster that attacked us? Apparently it was an akuma, and I have the power to destroy them. Now I'm being held hostage in some creepy builing._

_Are you all right?_ he asked her.

_I'm fine. Don't worry, I'll get out of here somehow. I'll come back and find you, _she promised.

_I'll be waiting._

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Morning. Sunlight streamed through the dirty window in Diane's room. She did not remember falling asleep, only talking to Shadow late at night. _Í'll be waiting, _he had told her. _I will escape, and find my way home, if its the last thing I do, _Diane told herself. _But how? Hmm...maybe I should obey and stop trying to escape for a while. Then, when they trust me and stop watching my every move, I'll make a run for it. Yeah, good idea._ (first sign of madness:talking to )

There was a banging on the door.

"Hey Diane! You in there? Open the door! I brought someone to meet you!" Kanda's voice jerked her out of her thoughts.

"Kanda? I'm so sorry, the finders locked my door from the outside. I can't get out until they come for me." she said.

"Tch. Idiot. Stand back."

As Diane watched, there was a soft click and the door swung open, revealing Kanda and a girl of about her age with dar, greenish-black hair.

"You cut the lock?" Diane asked in amazement.

"Tch. Lenalee, this is Diane, the girl I told you about."

Lenalee moed forward shyly, and extended her hand. Shaking hands with the girl, Diane said, "Nice to meet you. Are you in training to become an exorcist, too?"

"Yes. Kanda told me that you don't want to be here. I don't want to be an exorcist, either. When the finders found out I was compatible with the innocence, they took me here and separated me from my brother. He's the only family I have. I miss him so much," Lenalee confided to her.

Diane gave the girl a hug. "I know how you feel, Lenalee. The finders separated me from my family, too."

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In the next few months, the three children became fast friends. When training was over, they would often sit together in Kanda's room and talk. Diane had stuck to her plan of being good, so soon Leverrier stopped having her handcuffed to a finder at all times. However, one still had to follow her everywhere, just in case. As Diane became happier, she became better with her innocence and was able to transform into the large, gray and white wolf at will. Her favorite thing to do was spar with Kanda.

Despite his age and size, Kanda was the best at hand-to-hand combat within the entire order, beating many exorcist much older and bigger than him. Diane remembered the first time she had seen Kanda sparring with Daisya.

_The finder had brought her to the training yard, as Leverrier had commanded her to work on physical training. In the middle of the room, Kanda and Daisya were engaged in a fight. As she watched, Daisya aimed a punch at the younger boy's face. Kanda easily dodged the blow, ducking and kicking Daisya in the stomach, sending him flying into the wall. There was applause from the onlookers. Diane cheered._

_"Master Kanda is the best martial art fighter in the whole order," the finder had told her. No exorcist so far has been able to last more that five minutes against him._

_"I want to try!" Diane had said, running up to Kanda. He turned and saw her._

_"Tch. You want to fight me? I'm not fighting a girl."_

_"What, you scared?" she taunted._

_"No way! I'm not scared of a girl!"_

_The two had started fighting. Kanda, angered by her comment, had lunged at her, aiming a kick at her face. Lithely, she dodged it, punching him in the stomach. This continued for at least 20 minutes. Then, finally, the audience gasped, as Kanda kicked Diane in the side, sending her flying. _

_Lenalee ran over to Diane. "Oh my god, that was amazing! I've never seen anyone last so long in a match against Kanda before! Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine." Diane replied shortly._

_"Kanda! I want a rematch!" she called after him._

_"Tch. Idiot."_

From then on, Diane had been sparring with Kanda daily, determined to beat him someday. Although he would never admit it, Kanda liked sparring with her, too, because she was the only one who could keep up with him.

The Black Order started to almost seem like home to Diane. She had friends who cared about her, a bed to sleep in, and delicious food, courtesy of Jerry, the Indian head chef. Diane knew that she was very fortunate, and that she should be happy. But she wasn't. She could never be completely happy here. For in the back of her mind, sadness was always lurking.

_Shadow._

_I miss you so much._

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**A/N: Wow, I think this is the longest chapter so far. Is Kanda any less OOC in this chapter? Did you like it? Hate it? Please Review!!!! **


	5. Escape

**A/N: Omg another updaaate!**

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-man is property of Katsura Hoshino=] (can't come up with anything more interesting to say here)**

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**5. Escape**

_Two months later:_

"I'm bored," Kanda declared, scowling, as he, Lenalee, and Diane walked around the hallways of the Black Order. A finder was following them, keeping an eye on Diane and cursing his bad luck at having to babysit an 8-year old.

"Why don't we go up to the roof?" suggested Lenalee.

"We're allowed to go the roof?" Diane asked.

"Of course. I've been there lots of times. The view is really beautiful from up there."

So, the three kids and the finder started climbing up the stairs to the top of the building.

10 minutes later:

"Wow, this is amazing. You can see for miles!" Diane exclaimed, looking down at the scenery. A sudden thought hit her. _Hmm, if I could jump or climb down from up here, I would be free! _A plan for escape started forming in her mind.

"Diane? You okay? You're looking kind of strange." Lenalee said.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm just fine." she said, forcing a smile.

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That night, at 1a.m.:

Diane opened to door of her room and looked outside. The hallway was empty, except for the dozing finder that was stationed outside her room. Tiptoeing, she started sneaking down the hallway.

"Where do you think you're going?" the finder was awake, after all.

"Oh, I um...I was going up to the roof to get some fresh air. I didn't want to wake you."

The finder snorted. "Trying to sneak off, huh? Not gonna happen, little girl. I'll come with you up to the roof."

On the roof:

Diane took a deep breath and prepared herself for what she was about to do. She glanced sideways at the finder. He was looking out at great view, not paying attention to her. In a split second, she had jumped over the railing and was plunging down toward the earth.

The wind whistled past her, as the ground got closer and closer.

"Innocence, Activate!" she yelled, concentrating as hard as she could and praying she wasn't about to die.

A golden light enveloped her, and she changed once again into the wolf, landing lightly on all four paws, unharmed.

_She was free._

_Shadow, I'm coming,_ she thought.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, SHE JUMPED OFF THE ROOF???!?!?!!?!?" Leverrier boomed.

Kanda and Lenalee had just finished breakfast, and were now walking up to Diane's room, wondering why she had missed breakfast, when they heard the shout from Leverrier's office. The two pressed their heads against the door to listen to the conversation.

"I'm sorry cheif, but it was late at night, and she wanted to go up to the roof. When I wasn't looking, she jumped over the railing."

"WHAT! How could you lose such an important exorcist? Go search the grounds for her body. We can't lose her innocence."

Kanda and Lenalee were horrified.

"No..." Lenalee whispered, eyes filling with tears. "This isn't possible. Diane would never kill herself."

"That idiot!" Kanda snarled. "Why would she do this do us? I didn't take her for the suicidal type."

"Kanda...don't say that. She's not dead, she can't be." Tears were streaming down Lenalee's face, and she didn't seem to believe her own words.

"Let's go to her room," Lenalee said.

"Why?"

"Maybe she left a note something."

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Inside Diane's room, Kanda knelt and picked up the small white envelope that was lying on the ground.

_To Kanda and Lenalee_, it said on the outside. Lenalee gasped.

As Kanda opened up the envelope, a small, golden locked fell out. There was also a letter:

_Dear Kanda and Lenalee,_

_I'm so sorry I had to leave like this, without telling you guys. But I know you would've stopped me, and I had to leave. I really do want to become an exorcist, but I can't do it without Shadow. He is my best friend, and the only family I have. I'm going back home to find him, but I promise you two that I _will_ be back someday. Lenalee, you were like a sister to me, and I will miss you terribly. I hope you brothe will come for you soon. Kanda, I know you don't believe me when I say I'll be back, so I'm leaving this locket with you. It is my most treasured possesion, and my promise to you that I will come back. Please keep it safe for me until my return._

_Love,_

_Diane_

A single tear slid down Kanda's cheek.

"Kanda...you're crying," Lenalee said softly.

"No I'm not! Shut up!" he snarled at her.

"I thought she was our friend. But she abandoned us to go chasing after some dog!" Kanda said angrily, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind him. But Lenalee noticed that, despite his anger at Diane, he had taken her locket with him.

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**A/N: Okay, I know Kanda was a little OOC again in this chapter. Sorry about that, people=P Though in the future, when Diane comes back (OMG SPOILER!), he'll be colder towards her.**


	6. Homeless

**A/N: Merry Christmahanakwanza everyone!!! This chapter is my present to everyone =]**

**Today was the last day of school, and now I'm out for Winter Vacation!!! Woohooooo!!!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own D. Gray-man *sob***

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**6. Homeless**

Diane ran across the forest floor on all four paws, panting. She had been running for nearly 10 days straight. Plumed tail wagging back and forth, she sniffed the air eagerly. _I'm getting closer. Its starting to smell like home._

It had been over two months since Diane had left the Black Order. Since then, she had been traveling across the continent, hitching a few free rides on trains but mostly traveling by foot. Diane had been running as a wolf for most of her journey, for she had found that when her innocence was activated, she felt stronger and had more stamina than usual. The only problem was food.

Diane had been hunting rabbits, deer, and other such animals for most of her food. It first eating raw disgusted her, but if she didn't think about it, her instincts took over and she found that it tasted pretty good. However, when she was traveling through a town and there were no aminals to hunt, she would have to steal and beg for food. Diane became an expert at picking pockets and all kinds of theivery. In one town, she even met a suspicious-looking young man who had taught her to pick locks.

The forest thinned, and Diane found herself at a town._ This is it,_ she thought. _This was the town right near my old home._ Changing back to human form to walk through the town, Diane was surprised to see Christmas decorations up in many of the houses. _Is it Christmas already?_ she wondered. She had lost track of time in these past few months. _That must mean I'll turn 9 years old soon._ Diane did not know the exact date of her birth, all she knew was that the wolves had found her around Christmastime, when she was only a few days old.

Half an hour later, Diane had walked through the town to find herself at the clearing where her old home had once stood. Everything was as she had left it; all the rubble was still there, with faint smoke still rising from it. This was where almost all of her family had been killed.

Diane felt a sudden pain in her chest, and tears welled in her eyes. _No, _she told herself. _I won't cry. I'll be brave, like the wolves were when they saved me. Besides, what would Kanda say if he saw me crying?_ She could almost hear his voice in her head.

_"Tch. Why are you crying, idiot?" _ Diane smiled to herself.

She head a sudden noise from the trees across the clearing. A big black wolf came loping out of the forest.

"Shadow!"

Wolf and girl ran towards each other.

"I missed you so much, Shadow," Diane whispered, burying her face in his thick fur.

_Me too._

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Later that night, Diane and Shadow lay underneath the trees, in a sort of makeshift shelter.

_Where are we going to go now? I was fine in this forest, but you can't stay in a forest all your life. You need other humans to talk to, _Shadow said.

"I don't know. We don't have anywhere to go. I told you about all that stuff that about akumas and innocence, right?"

_Yep._

"Well, I really want to be an exorcist. The Black Order was like a home to me, and it was safe there. I even had friends there, can you believe that?" Diane had never had human friends her age before, as the children in the town called her a freak and a monster, because she was always around wolves.

"The only problem is," she continued, "it's thousands of miles away and I don't know how to get back. At first I was tracking my progress, and memorizing my route so that I could find my way back. But about 10 days ago, akumas started following and attacking me. There were so many; I couldn't fight them off. So I just started running, and haven't stopped since. I lost track of my path."

_So, you're saying we could be attacked at any moment?_ he asked.

"Well, I think I lost them for the time being, but they could catch up soon."

_We should probably go._

"Where?"

_Anywhere. We'll travel around the country, seeing sights and stuff._

"That sounds like fun. I've always wanted to see the Himalaya Mountains," Diane agreed cheerfully.

Of course, she knew what they were really doing: running from the akuma.

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_Six Years Later_

"I'm starving," Diane complained.

Now a teenager of fourteen, Diane walked through the cobbled streets of the small town, with Shadow at her side. She heard a whistle from across the street. A young man of about 16 smiled at her suggestively.

"Jerk," she muttered to herself, ignoring him.

Diane had changed a lot in the past 6 years. She was about 5 feet 4 inches, with thick, shiny black hair, emerald-green eyes, and a slim, wiry figure. Once a cute little girl, she was now a beautiful young woman. Boys often stared at her as she passed them on the street.

_I'm hungry too, _Shadow said. _You got any money left?_

Diane sighed. "No, we spent it all at the last town."

During the past six years, Diane and Shadow had been wandering throughout Asia, running from akuma. They had been to all sorts of places, like Russia, Egypt, India, and Thailand. Currently, they were in a town at the base of the Himalaya Mountains.

_Maybe you should get a job, _Shadow suggested.

"A job? Are you crazy? We can't stay in a town, the akuma will come and destoy it!"

_But they haven't attacked us in 3 months. Maybe we can stay here for a while, and settle down a bit._

Diane looked thoughtful. "You're right. We haven't been attacked in ages, maybe they've finally given up."

_Don't get your hopes up, though._

"Oh, you're so pessimistic. I'm going into that shop over there, see if they have any jobs available."

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Kanda sighed softly to himself.

Sixteen years old and now an experienced exorcist, he sat on his bed, holding the golden locket Diane had left him. He flipped it open to reveal a tiny picture of her and the black wolf he supposed was Shadow, a picture he had looked a numerous times before.

"Tch," he muttered to himself. "I shouldn't have trusted her. It's been over six years, she's not coming back. Probably dead."

Kanda felt a strange sadness overcome him, an emotion he hadn't felt in years.

"Why should I care so much? She's just a stupid girl."

But despite that, he felt a single tear roll down his cheek.

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**A/N: awwwwww, poor Kanda ='( He really misses her.**

**Anyway, 2 days til Christmas!!! Woot!=] **

**My Christmas Wish List:**

**1. Reviews**

**2. Reviews**

**3. Reviews**

**4. iPod nano**

**5. REVIEWS!!!!**

**Happy Holidays everyone!!!**


	7. General Tiedoll

**A/N: OMG finally an update!! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been pretty busy. But guess what??? I got an iPod for Christmas!!!!=]**

**So anyway, this week is my winter vacation and I thought I was going to have a ton of free time to write, but turns out I have skating practice like almost every day this week so I won't have nearly as much time as I thought. =P**

**Thanks to ****mimicsmaze****, ****OcGoddess****, and ****Roxas-Roxs­-My-Soxs**** for reviewing!!!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own D. Gray-man XD**

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**7. General Tiedoll**

"Thank you very much for your purchase sir," Diane said to the wealthy-looking man as she delivered the huge cake to him. She had gotten a job delivering baked goods for the bakery in town. The baker, Mrs. Wright, was a very nice lady who, in addition to paying Diane a large salary, also gave her food and board. She let Diane and Shadow stay in the bakery's attic, claiming that it was never used anyway.

The two had been in this town for three weeks now, and nothing had tried to kill them yet. They considered that a big success.

Returning home to the bakery, Diane was greeted by Mike, Mrs. Wright's fifteen year-old son, who was taking orders at the counter.

"Done with all your deliveries already, Diane?" he asked her.

"Yep."

"Wow, you're the fastest deliveyperson we've hired so far. That reminds me, do you want to see a movie or something after my shift is over?" He smiled at her hopefully. (Did they even have movies back then?)

"Thanks, but I'm really tired. I'm going to bed early tonight."

Walking up the stairs to her room in the attic, Diane thought about Mike's invitation. _What if he asks me again?_ _I don't want to hurt his feelings, but I don't see him as more than a friend. I mean, he's really nice and cute and stuff, but I don't really think about guys that way anymore. Not since Kand-_

She stopped herself mid-thought. She didn't want to remind herself of that boy, who she would probably never see again. _It's been 6 years..._

_Thinking about that exorcist boy again?_ Shadow asked her, as Diane sat down on her bed in the attic.

"Shut up, don't remind me," she snapped.

_I can hear your thoughts, you know. You think about him all the time, whether you know it or not._

"I said shut up!"

Diane rolled over and attemped to fall asleep, trying to forget about the dark-haired boy that she once had a crush on, and would probably never see again.

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_Diane. Wake up!_ Shadow woke her late that night.

"Huh...?"

_Something's going on downstairs._

Diane leaped out of bed and scrambled down the stairs, with Shadow at her side. She felt a strange sense of deja vu.

Arriving downstairs in the main room of the bakery, she saw Mrs. Wright pinned to the wall by an akuma.

"Mrs. Wright!" she screamed.

The akuma turned to face her, and Diane stepped back in horror.

This akuma was a level 2. It was human-shaped, and kind of looked like a clown, with sharp blades for hands. One of these blades was pressed against Mrs. Wright's throat.

Diane had never even seen a level 2 before, much less fought against one. They were screwed. It would be like the first time, six years ago, when Diane's family had been killed by akuma. The akuma would kill everyone in the bakery, then go on to destroy the rest of the town.

_Should we run?_ Shadow asked her.

"No..." Diane whispered. "I won't run any more. I'll save this town no matter what, even if it kills me." Anger was builing inside her. "From now on, I'll destroy every akuma I meet!"

_Well said. And I'll always be by your side._

"Innocence, Activate!" she screamed.

Diane felt her body change into the sleek gray wolf, for the first time in three weeks. Together, she and Shadow leapt at the akuma.

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General Tiedoll and his former disciple, Daisya Barry ran towards the sound of the commotion.

They had been walking through a small town in Asia when they heard loud screams and crashes coming from one of the buildings.

"Do you think it's akuma, General?" Daisya asked as they ran.

"I don't know. Possibly."

Reaching the scene of the commotion, they saw a level 2 akuma standing admist the rubble of a building. A large, black animal and a smaller gray one leapt at it. The akuma laughed and swung its arm at one, attempting to slice it in half. But the animal was too fast. It avoided the blade, and leapt straight for the akuma's neck. The other one tackled the akuma from behind. The akuma fell over, arms flailing wildly in an futile attempt to steady itself.

As General Tiedoll and Daisya watched in amazement, the two animals tore the akuma's head off. Two seconds later it exploded, blowing up the rest of the building.

Once the smoke cleared, Daisya and the General rushed forward and cleared away some of the rubble, to find a large black wolf lying in the rubble. Daisya stared at the cross on its forehead.

"Is that..."

"It's Innocence. This animal is its accomodator." the General said.

Daisya gaped. "What? I didn't know it was possible for an animal to be an accomodator!"

The other animal was nowhere to be found, but instead Daisya sifted through the rubble to find a teenage girl with long black hair and the same cross on her forhead.

"Hey, General! I found another one!"

Ten minutes later, they had cleared away all the rubble and found two other people, a woman and a teenage boy.

Diane slowly opened her eyes.

"What...what happened?"

Then, she saw the man kneeling next to her, taking her pulse. Diane gasped. She had seen this man before, or at least seen that jacket before, a long time ago at the Order. He was wearing an exorcist's jacket, but the fastenings on it were made of gold, not silver. _A General..._

He smiled at her kindly.

"My dear, I am General Tiedoll, from the Black Order." Suddenly he blinked, and recognition spread over his face.

"I've seen you before, haven't I? You're the girl who ran away from the Order 6 years ago. Thank goodness you're still alive. Your friend Yuu was quite upset when you left, you know."

Diane's heart skipped a beat. "You know Kanda?"

"Yes, he was my disciple, and a very talented exorcist. But going back to the original subject, why did you run away from the Order? Don't you want to help save lives?"

Diane looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed for running away. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave, but I had to. When the finders took me to Headquarters, they left Shadow behind. I had to go back for him."

"Shadow?" General Tiedoll asked, confused.

Shadow, having just woken up, barked.

"Oh, I see. Yes, he is quite a remarkable creature. I have never seen an animal be an accomodator to the Innocence before."

Shadow looked smug.

"So," General Tiedoll continued, "I take it you still want to become an exorcist? You and Shadow did quite a nice job with that akuma back there."

"Of course I still want to be an exorcist!" Diane exclaimed.

"I thought so. Well, I can't afford to bring you back to Headquarters at this time, so how would you like to become my disciple?"

Shadow watched as a genuine smile lit up Diane's face, for the first time in years.

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**A/N: Yay Diane finally has a sensei!!!!! lol, I love General Tiedoll! He's so funny because he always stops in the middle of life-threatening missions and starts drawing.=]**

**Please Review!!!!!!**

**And Happy New Year Everyone!!!**


	8. Home At Last

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait everyone! I've been so busy with schoolwork and stuff I haven't had any time to write lately.=P**

**Thanks to mimicsmaze, Skitter, Kaytlyn Hue, and Uzumaki and Hyuuga girls for reviewing!!!**

**Disclaimer: All D. Gray-man stuff belongs to Katsura Hoshino, not me.='[**

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**8. Home at Last**

_Two years later_

"Innocence…Activate!" Diane yelled. The cross on her forehead started glowing bright gold. She snapped her fingers, and seven huge gray wolves formed out of the air.

_Kill it_, she thought.

The wolves leaped as one toward the akuma in front of them, easily overpowering it and tearing it to pieces.

"Phew. I think that was the last of them," she said to General Tiedoll.

"Indeed. You have come very far in these last two years, my daughter. I think that I have taught you all that I can about your Innocence."

"Really?"

"Yes. I believe that you are now ready to return to Headquarters, to receive whatever missions they see fit to give you."

Diane was ecstatic. "Oh my God, thank you so much, General!"

She hugged him around the waist.

"Are you really so happy to leave me?" General Tiedoll asked her, ruffling her hair and smiling down at her.

"What? Of course not, General. I just-"

_You just can't wait to see that boy again, right?_ Shadow interrupted.

"Shut up!" Diane snapped at him.

"Excuse me?" General Tiedoll asked.

"Sorry, I was talking to Shadow."

Tiedoll smiled. "It's been two years, and I still can't get used to you two talking like that. Ah well, I'd better go send Komui a letter informing him of you arrival. You will leave in the morning, my daughter."

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_One week later_

Diane and Shadow stood outside of Headquarters, gazing up at the huge tower. It was a foggy night, and the top of the tower was so far up that it wasn't visible.

_Wow, this place is huge._ Shadow said.

"It's even bigger than I remembered," she told him.

_So you really jumped off the top of this tower to escape?_

"Yep."

Diane walked up to the gate.

"Um…hello?" she called nervously. "My name is Diane Elkridge, and I've been sent here by General Tiedoll. I need to speak to the supervisor."

_Inside the command room at Headquarters_

"Komui, look at this." The teenage girl had greenish-black hair pulled back in two pigtails.

"Huh? What is it, Lenalee?" her brother replied.

She pointed to the TV screen, which showed the dark figure of a person and some animal standing at the gate.

"Is that…" the other members of the Science Department started crowding around the screen.

The figure was shrouded in mist, and it was impossible to see his or her face. Then, it spoke.

"Um…hello? My name is Diane Elkridge, and I've been sent here by General Tiedoll."

"She knows the General! Could she be a new Exorcist?" Lenalee asked.

"Hmm…Tiedoll sent her? He never told me about her. We should probably have her examined." Komui said.

_Back outside_

"Activate the Gatekeeper's X-ray inspection!" Diane heard a voice shout out of nowhere.

Suddenly, the weird face that was carved into the gate sprang to life.

"X-ray examination!" It boomed in a deep voice. "Determining whether the subject is human or akuma!"

"I don't remember this happening last time," Diane muttered to Shadow.

Then she froze as yellow light was beamed over her.

"Hmm…nothing's showing up." The Gatekeeper mumbled to himself. "What is it?"

Then-

"AHHH! THIS THING ISN'T HUMAN! GET IT OUT!!!!!!!!!"

_Back inside the Order_

The whole Science Department gasped.

"Kandaaa!!! Get in here now!" Komui shouted.

The door opened, and a tall, handsome exorcist walked in.

"What do you want, Komui?"

"There's an akuma at the gate! DESTROY IT!!!"

"Tch."

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_Outside_

Diane was frozen in shock as the Gatekeeper continued to scream.

"Intruder! Intruder! Get it out!"

Suddenly, a dark figure seemed to appear out of nowhere on the ledge above the Gatekeeper.

"You're pretty brave, coming here all alone, akuma," the figure said.

The voice was both strange and familiar. Diane couldn't see the person's face, as he was shrouded in mist.

"What? I'm not an akuma!" Diane protested.

The figure drew a glowing sword out of its scabbard. Shadow growled.

"Stay back, Shadow," she hissed.

_No way!_

"I mean it! You're not going to get killed because of me."

The figure leaped off the ledge and over her head, landing behind her.

"Wait! I'm not your enemy! I'm an exorcist!" she protested, backing up.

"I'll cut you in two and we'll know for sure."

Diane bumped into the gate behind her, and knew she was trapped as the figure ran towards her, sword aimed at her face.

"I'm really an exorcist! General Tiedoll should have sent a letter!"

The sword point stopped an inch from Diane's face.

Then a voice came from a flying, bat-like creature.

"Stop the attack! We've found Tiedoll's letter!"

The sword did not move.

Suddenly, the wind shifted, and the mist blew away. Diane saw her attacker's face for the first time.

He was very handsome, with sharp, chiseled features, and dark eyes. His long, blue-black hair was pulled back in a ponytail.

"K-Kanda?" she gasped.

He stared at her in shock.

Out of nowhere, a clipboard hit him on the head.

"Kanda, we told you to stop already." A girl's voice said. "You're terrifying the poor girl."

Diane turned to look at the girl who had spoken.

"Lenalee?" she whispered disbelievingly.

"Diane!" she squealed, giving her a hug. "It's really you! I can't believe it! I've missed you so much!"

"I missed you too, Lenalee."

Lenalee let go of her, saying "We better get inside before the gates shut."

Once they were inside, Diane turned to Kanda. She really wanted to hug him, but restrained herself with difficulty because she knew that would piss him off. Instead, she held out her hand for him to shake.

"I've missed you, Kanda," she said softly.

"Tch. Just because we were friends once doesn't mean we are now," he told her before walking off.

Diane turned to look at Lenalee. Her face looked angry, but there was hurt hidden beneath the anger.

"What's up with him?" she asked.

"Oh, um, nothing. He's just always like that. Oh, is this your wolf? He's so cute!" She bent down and held her hand out for Shadow to sniff.

"Don't change the subject," Diane snapped.

Lenalee sighed. "I'm sorry, Diane. I think he's still mad at you."

"Mad at me? Why?"

"Kanda was really upset when you left us. We all thought you were dead."

"But you got my letter, didn't you? I told you guys not to worry, and said I'd be back."

Lenalee sighed again. "He didn't believe you. He was certain you had killed yourself."

"Well I'm back now, and I'm not dead, just like I promised."

"Yes, Diane, but I think he feels like you abandoned him. When you left, Kanda lost his best friend. I was never as good a friend to him as you were. You were the tomboy, the one who would spar and meditate with him. Now, 8 years later, you're finally back. But Kanda has changed a lot. I feel like I don't really even know him anymore. I think he doesn't want to become friends with you again, for fear of losing you for a second time."

Diane's eyes flashed. "He's such an idiot. Well, he's not getting off the hook that easy. I'll never turn my back on one of my friends."

"That's the spirit." Lenalee smiled at her. "Now, you should probably go talk to my brother, Komui."

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"I'm very pleased to met you, Diane," Komui said, shaking hands with her. "Sorry about the misunderstanding earlier."

"No problem."

"So, you were General Tiedoll's disciple, eh? For how long?"

"I traveled with him for two years."

"Very good. Now, we'll need to check your synchronization levels again."

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_In Hevlaska's chamber_

For the second time in her life, Diane was lifted up into the air by two white, glowing hands.

_Back again, Diane Elkridge?_ Hevlaska asked.

"You knew I would be," she replied.

_Yes, I did. And as for your synchronization rate…12%...23%...49%...57%...68%...79%...87%...97%. Your synchronization rate is 97%, Diane Elkridge._

Komui gasped, checking his clipboard. "But that's 43% percent higher than before!"

_Indeed._

"And on the record from last time it says…the Innocence fragment inside her was missing a piece."

_That missing piece is inside that animal_, Hevlaska said, pointing to Shadow.

"What! Impossible! An animal can't be an accomodator!"

Hevlaska set Diane back on the ground. _It seems that this one is._

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"I see. This is quite a strange situation," Komui said, walking with Diane away from Hevlaska's chamber. "The General Cloud Nyne has a monkey, Lau Jimin, which also carries innocence. However, unlike Shadow here, Lau Jimin _is_ Cloud's innocence. But Shadow is like an exorcist in his own right, apart from you."

"Yeah." Diane was getting quite bored with Komui's speculations on her Innocence, and starting to space out.

"So, would you mind showing me your innocence in action?"

"Huh?" she asked, jolted out of her daydreaming.

"Would you mind fighting with another exorcist, just to show me what you can do?"

"Sure!" Diane beamed. _Finally, something interesting._

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**A/N: Wow, that was a pretty long chapter.=]**

**The Gatekeeper saw a wolf inside Diane, which is why if freaked out. XD**

**Review please????**


	9. New Friends

**A/N: Woohoo another update! Pretty quick, huh?=]**

**OMG I'm like completely freaking out! My school's Midterm Exams are in 1 and a half weeks! Help!!!!**

**Thanks to ****mimicsmaze****, ****Wolf-and-the-moon****,****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****Uzumake and Hyuuga girls, and Ms. Lightfairyprincess ****for reviewing! You guys make my day!=]**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own D. Gray-man=P**

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**9. New Friends**

Diane entered the training room with Komui. There were several exorcists in there already, fighting each other. As she watched, a tall red-head tried to smash a smaller white-haired boy with a huge hammer. The smaller boy easily dodged it, and-

"Hello everybody!" Komui called cheerfully. The fighting ceased.

"This is Diane Elkridge, our newest exorcist." Everyone turned to stare at her. Diane heard whispers from the other exorcists.

"A new exorcist?"

"Woah, she's kinda hot."

"Wait a sec, are those cat ears or something on her her head? That's really weird."

"Who cares? She's so hot."

Komui cleared his throat loudly, and the whispers died out.

"Now, she has agreed to demonstrate her Innocence for me. Who wants to fight her?"

No one spoke; they were all still staring at her.

"Um…Allen!" Komui said. "Why don't you try your luck against her?"

"What?" Allen yelped. "I can't fight against a girl!"

Diane was annoyed by this. "Oh, you don't think I'm good enough for you?"

"No, I just-"

Diane walked out to the middle of the room. "Come on. Or are you afraid?"

As she waited for Allen to respond, Diane suddenly noticed Kanda, who was standing in the corner of the training room, watching her. Her heart leapt into her throat. _Why is he watching me? Wants to see me mess up, probably._ Diane began to feel slightly nervous, but hid it under a mask of boredom.

Allen was shocked. _I can't believe Komui's making me fight a girl! And what's up with her ears? And-- is that a tail? What in the world--? Maybe it has something to do with her innocence. Well, I guess I can't back out of the fight without looking like a coward now._

He stepped into the center of the room, facing her. Diane was standing with her arms crossed, looking almost bored. _Hmph. She's way too overconfident. But still, she doesn't look like much, and I don't want to hurt a girl. I'll go easy on her._

"Innocence, Activate!" Allen shouted. His left arm turned into a large, metal claw, and he lunged toward Diane. He swung his arm a Diane, just trying to knock her off her feet without harming her. But a second before his arm should have hit her, suddenly Diane was gone. He turned, and she was standing behind him.

"Pretty slow, aren't you?" she asked, grinning.

Now Allen was starting to get annoyed. He lunged toward her. So fast that she was only a blur, Diane leaped into the air.

"Innocence, Activate!" she shouted.

Diane somersaulted in midair, as a golden light engulfed her body. When she landed on the ground, she was a large gray wolf, with a green cross on its forehead.

There was a collective gasp from the onlookers.

_Holy crap!_ Allen thought. _I've never seen anything like that before._

He was too stunned to react as the wolf lunged toward him, and was knocked off his feet with the force of a wrecking ball. Coming to his senses, Allen quickly grabbed the animal with his claw and flung it off of him. Diane hit the wall with a thud.

Dazed, Diane got back on her feet, growling.

Allen also stood up, still shocked by what had happened. He saw the wolf was back on its feet, growling menacingly. Then it barked once, and the cross on its head glowed gold. Wind swirled around Allen, and suddenly he was surrounded by seven wolves._ Dammit._

Kanda was watching Diane fight in amazement. _She's learned a lot since she left. She's changed, too. And there's something different her fighting. She seems so much more determined than before._

"Innocence, activate level two!" Allen shouted.

His left arm glowed, and changed into a gun. He shot at the first wolf. The bullet hit it square in the chest, and the animal dissolved into mist. Two seconds later, though, it reformed, looking angrier than before.

_I can't kill it! What am I going to do?_ Allen thought.

Reacting at some invisible signal, the wolves leaped simultaneously towards Allen, all except for the one with a cross on its forehead, which Allen thought seemed to be smirking at him.

The wolves smashed him to the ground, and as one closed its mouth full of sharp, lethal teeth around Allen's throat—

"That's enough!" Komui shouted.

The wolves vanished into mist, and Diane turned back human.

"That was incredible, Diane!" Komui said gleefully. "You are quite skilled with your Innocence."

"Thanks."

"One more thing, though. How good are you at fighting without your Innocence?"

"Hmm?" asked Diane.

"I'd like you to try sparring with someone, to test your physical capabilities."

"Sure!" Diane loved sparring, as she almost always won.

"Kanda?" Komui called. "Would you mind sparring with Diane?"

"Tch. Fine." He replied, walking out to face Diane in the center of the room.

Diane's heart gave a strange jerk at the sight of him, but she ignored it. _I will beat him this time_, she thought. _I owe him a good punch or two for what he said earlier._

The two faced each other in the middle of the room, eyeing each other warily, like two boxers in a ring. Without warning, Diane lunged toward him with unnatural speed, aiming a kick towards his face. Even faster, Kanda dodged it and punched her in the face. Diane's head jerked back.

_Stupid! _She scolded herself. _You should have seen that coming!_ The thing was, since she had left the Black Order eight years ago, she hadn't sparred with anyone nearly as good as Kanda.

Kanda kicked towards her stomach, which she just barely managed to dodge.

_Damn, he's so fast!_

Diane lunged at him with a right hook, which he sidestepped easily, and then grabbed her wrist and flipped her over. Diane's back hit the ground, knocking the breath out of her.

"You've gotten lazy," he whispered in her ear.

Growling, Diane leapt back onto her feet.

The two started fighting again, moving wih such speed that they were almost a blur. Both were determined to win. After several minutes, Kanda finally lunged forward and aimed a kick towards her face. She blocked it with her forearm, cringing at the impact. Then Diane tried to punch him in the stomach, but he was already behind her. She spun around, but he kicked her in the side, sending her flying into the wall.

Diane hit the wall with a huge THUD, creating a slight dent in the stone. As she slid down to the ground, Lenalee and Shadow both ran towards her.

"Diane, are you okay? That was amazing!" Lenalee squealed.

Shadow licked her face.

_You okay?_ He asked.

Diane ignored the both of them.

"Kanda!" she called at his retreating figure. "I want a rematch!"

_Flashback-Kanda's POV_

_The girl was a really tough fighter, for her size and age._

_They had been fighting for over 20 minutes, and she showed no sign of tiring. "There's no way I'm losing," Kanda hissed to himself._

_She lunged at him with a right hook, and he sidestepped, kicking her in the side before she had a chance to turn. The kick sent her flying through the air. _

"_Finally," he muttered. As he turned to leave, the little girl called after him, with frustration glinting in her bright green eyes, "Kanda! I want a rematch!"_

_End Flashback_

"Tch. No way," Kanda replied, before walking out of the training room.

"I can't believe I lost again! Eight years later, and I still can't beat him!" Diane growled, punching the wall with her fist in anger.

"Diane, you were amazing!" Lenalee said. "I've never seen anyone last so long in a fight against Kanda before."

Diane still looked rather annoyed.

"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," a different voice said from behind her. "No one ever beats Yuu."

Diane turned to see the redheaded exorcist and the white-haired boy she had fought earlier.

"I'm Lavi," said the readhed, holding out his hand.

"I'm Diane. Nice to meet you," she said, taking his hand with a smile.

"Oh, and this Allen, the beansprout you fought earlier." Lavi said.

"Don't call me beansprout!" Allen protested, cuffing Lavi on the head.

"That's what Yuu calls him," Lavi whispered to Diane.

Diane giggled. "Sorry about the fight earlier," she said to Allen.

"Don't worry about it. At least that illusionary wolf didn't rip my throat out or anything."

He smiled at Diane, and she knew that she would have some great friends at the Black Order.

This place was already beginning to feel like home.

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**A/N: Hehe, that was a really fun chapter to write. I know a lot of people were thinking that I'd make Diane fight Kanda right away, but I wanted him to watch her fight someone else with her Innocence first.=]**

**So, how was it?**

**Review!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**OMG I have an ice-skating competition this weekend! Wish me luck everyone!**


	10. New Mission

**A/N: Woohoo Chapter 10! Double digits! =]**

**Thanks to ****Ms. Lightfairyprincess****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, and ****mimicsmaze ****for reviewing!!!**

**If anyone's interested, my team got 6****th**** out of 7 at our skating competiton.=P Well it wasn't that bad, we would've gotten 5****th**** if no one had fallen, but oh well…**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own D. Gray-man…**

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**10. New Mission**

Diane woke up early in the morning in her new room at the Black Order. It was a beautiful day outside, and sunlight was streaming into her room from the window. Diane stretched and yawned.

"Wow, that was the first time I've slept in my own room in years."

_Sure beats sleeping on the forest ground, huh?_ Shadow asked.

"Well, I actually didn't really mind sleeping outside. I was those dusty inns we stayed in with Tiedoll all the time that bothered me."

_Well, at least we didn't get attacked by akuma in the middle of the night as much when we slept indoors._

"True. Why are we talking about this, anyway? The past is over, and from now on, we're going to focus on the present."

_Speaking of the present, I'm really hungry._

Diane laughed. "Lets go get some breakfast."

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It was Diane's turn to order her food.

"Well, aren't you cute! Are you the new exorcist?" the Indian head chef, Jerry, squealed.

"Um, sort of. I just got here yesterday, but I've been here before,a long time ago."

"Oh my goodness, I remember you! The little girl who ran away! Well, its great to see you again. What would you like for breakfast?"

"Umm… can I have four steaks, three burgers, some ribs and fries?"

Jerry looked startled. "You're really going to eat all that?"

"Half is for Shadow, of course."

"Er, coming right up!"

A few minutes later, Diane walked through the cafeteria with a heaping plate of food.

"Diane! Over here!" Lenalee called.

Smiling, Diane walked over to their table.

"Morning, everyone," Diane said brightly, putting her tray down next to Lavi's.

"Wow, you eat almost as much as Allen," Lavi remarked. Lenalee hit him on the head, and Diane laughed.

"It's not all for me. Half is for Shadow."

Right on cue, Shadow jumped up onto the bench next to Diane, placing his paws on the table. He snatched a steak off Diane's tray and swallowed it in two bites.

"Um…." Lavi looked surprised.

"Yes?"

"Never mind."

Diane looked over her shoulder to see Kanda, sitting alone at a table.

_He really has changed_, she thought to herself. _I remember the old days, when Kanda and Lenalee and I would sit together…we were such good friends…_

_Obsessing over that human again? _Shadow asked her.

_Shut up! Stop listening to my thoughts!_

_Well, I can't help it you know. Our minds are connected by the Innocence. _

_That doesn't mean you have to eavesdrop on my thoughts! And I am not obsessed with Kanda!_

_You just keep telling that to yourself._

"Whatcha lookin' at?" Lavi interrupted Diane and Shadow's mental argument. Diane realized that she had been staring at Kanda.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing," she said quickly.

Lavi turned to look in the direction Diane had been staring, and spotted Kanda.

"Yuu? Is that who you were staring at?"

Diane turned slightly pink. "No! I was just…spacing out."

Lavi grinned evilly. "I think someone has a crush on Yuu!" he chirped.

"No I don't! Shut up before someone hears you!"

The whole table was staring at Diane, who had turned bright red.

"Exorcist Diane Elkridge?" a finder called. "Komui wants to see you."

Diane sighed in relief. _Saved by the bell._

"See you guys later," she said, getting up from the table. Shadow followed her, mournfully eyeing the plate of unfinished food.

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"Diane, I'm sending you on a mission," Komui said.

"Really? Awesome!"

"But first, I did some research on your Innocence yesterday. You see, I was curious about your ears and, erm, _tail_, and was wondering what they had to do with your Innocence. So after analyzing the video of you fighting Allen that was recorded by a golem, I have found that your Innocence is partially activated at times."

"What?"

"What I mean is, like even right now, a tiny part of your Innocence is activated."

"But I'm not activating it!"

"Yes, I know. Even when you don't forcibly activate it, a tiny portion of your Innocence always activated, which is why you still retain some of your wolfish characteristics, even as a human."

Diane looked confused. "Um…"

"Here. Try de-activating your Innocence completely."

"But…it's not activated…"

"Just try. Concentrate on completely shutting off your connection with your Innocence."

Diane closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds she felt nothing happen, but Komui cried, "Yes! I was right!"

"What? What happened?" Diane asked.

"Your ears and tail are gone."

Diane reached up and felt her head, and realized he was right. She touched the side of her head, and found a normal, human ear there. Shocked, Diane lost her concentration and it disappeared.

"Whoa, that was really weird."

"That's what happens when you completely stop synchronizing with your Innocence," Komui told her. "It might be helpful for you to know, as you normally attract a lot of attention with those ears."

Diane smiled. "Thanks, Komui. I've always wondered about that."

"Now, as for your mission—"

The door suddenly flew open and Kanda walked in, looking irritated as usual.

"You wanted to speak to me, Komui?" he asked.

"Yes, right on time. Kanda, you and Diane are going on a mission together to Belgium, where a city has been infested by akuma. You will leave this afternoon at twelve. But please be careful, you two. We really can't afford to lose any more exorcists. And Kanda, promise me that you will look after Diane and make sure no harm comes to her."

Kanda glared at Komui. "Che. Why can't I go alone? Its not _my_ job to protect little girls. I'm not a babysitter."

"Promise me. It's your duty as a more experienced exorcist to protect others."

"Che…fine."

Diane glared at both of them. "I don't need protection! Especially not from _him_! And I am NOT a little girl!" And with that, she stormed out of the room. Kanda stared after her for two seconds, then also walked out angrily.

"Be ready to leave in two hours!" Komui called after them. _Well, I'm glad those two are getting along_, he sighed to himself.

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"The nerve of him!" Diane fumed, storming up to her room to get ready for her mission. "I don't need _protection_! And especially not from a jerk like Kanda! Calling me a _little girl_…how dare he! And I'm only two years younger than him, too!"

Shadow shook his head. _You are completely infatuated with that boy._

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**A/N: Originally this chapter was going to be about the actual mission, but the beginning part got really long so I decided to separate the two. So the mission will be in the next chapter. XD**

**Please Review!!!!!!!!! Please please please please please please…..**

**By the way, has anyone heard the song 'Ice Bullet' by Sakurai Takahiro(Kanda's voice actor)? It's amazing.=]**


	11. Belgium

**A/N: Sorry it's been such a long time since my last update. I've been really busy with school, as midterms have started. Also, I had NO IDEA what I was going to write about the mission, so please excuse this chapter if it sucks.**

**Thanks to ****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****mmt****, ****hashire****, and ****aviantei**** for reviewing! **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own D. Gray-man, and Kanda still doesn't appear with his shirt off often enough. =P**

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**11. Belgium**

Diane crossed her arms over her chest, determinedly not looking at the long-haired exorcist who sat in the seat across from her in the first class train compartment. Shadow was curled up in the seat next to her, his head in her lap. They had just left the Black Order, and were now heading to Belgium for their mission.

She fingered the silver buttons on her new exorcist's uniform restlessly. Diane had always hated long train rides. She could never sit still for long…she wanted to be doing something, preferable involving killing akuma.

_Chill,_ Shadow told her. _You'll have plenty of chances to kill akuma once we get there._

_But I'm so bored!_ She whined. _Trust Komui to send me on a mission with Kanda, of all people. He is such a jerk…I'd rather be with anyone else but him._

_Aww, come on. I think this is a good oppurtunity for you two to bond,_ Shadow smirked at her.

_Shut up. You sound like Komui._

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_**Kanda's POV**_

_Why isn't she saying anything?_ Kanda thought to himself. _Is she still mad at me for what I said earlier? Well, why should I care, anyway? She's just a stupid girl. And she'll only get in the way of the mission, and get herself killed. Just like the beansprout. Last time I was on a mission with him, we almost lost the Innocence because of his idiotic soft-heartedness. Che. Why does Komui always stick me with the newbies? I'm not an freaking babysitter!_

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_**Normal POV**_

"We will be arriving in Brussels _(A/N: That's a city in Belgium. Seriously, it is.)_in 10 minutes," the train conductor's voice boomed over the speaker.

"Thank God," Diane muttered. This had been the longest train ride in her life. Shadow was still asleep, and had been sleeping for the whole train ride, so she had had no one to talk to.

When they at last arrived at the train station, Kanda finally spoke. "Listen up, girl. _Do not_ get in my way during this mission. This is a war, and war is about sacrifices. If you get hurt, and it's intefering with this mission, I'm not going to save you."

Diane glared at him in hurt and anger. "What _happened_ to you, Kanda? You used to be a nice person, and fun to hang around with. When did you become such an arrogant bastard?"

And with that, she grabbed her suitcase and walked out of the compartment. Shadow, waking up at last, got up and followed her into the train station.

_Had a little argument with Loverboy?_ He asked her.

_Don't call him that!_ She snapped. _Ugh, I hate him so much! I don't know how I was ever friends with him!_

Shadow sighed in exasperation. _You're in major denial._

Diane ignored this, walking through the huge train station looking for the exit, still ranting to herself. "…he thinks he's so much better and more experienced than everyone else, like he's been through so much in this damn war. Well, here's a newsflash for him: I've been through just as much in this war as he has! I'd like to see that jerk survive for 6 years without a home, hunting wild animals and stealing for food, just to stay alive..."

_Just shut up already, will you?_ Shadow snapped in irritaion. _He's in love with you too, you just have to give him some time._

At this, Diane stopped so suddenly that a few people walking behind her almost bumped into her. But before she could tell Shadow that that was the stupidest ting she had ever heard, a voice spoke from behind her.

"You're going the wrong way," a familiar male voice said crossly, making her jump.

Diane turned to see Kanda, standing a few feet behing her. "The exit is that way," he said impatiently, jerking his head to the left.

"I knew that," Diane muttered, turning red and striding off in the direction he had indicated, without looking back.

Shadow chuckled to himself. _She couldn't be more obvious if she walked around wearing a sign that said 'I love Kanda' on it._

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The next day, the three exorcists (counting Shadow) walked along the dirt path towards the akuma infested Belgian village. They had stayed in an inn last night, and Diane and Kanda had not said a word to each other since the train station yesterday. As they walked, Diane stared at the ground, looking anywhere but at Kanda. She was still incredibly mad at him for everything that had happened the previous days.

Just then the wind shifted, and Diane caught a familiar scent on the breeze.

"Akumas! We're near the village!" she shouted, leaping forward. There was a flash of golden light, and suddenly a gray wolf was running at a dead sprint towards the village.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing?" Kanda shouted after her. There was no reply.

Shadow growled in annoyance, and raced off after her.

_That idiot!_ Kanda thought. _She's going to get herself and her dog killed, acting without thinking like that._

When he finally caught up with Diane, she was crouching behind the village gates, in human form. Shadow was growling at her, and seemed to be reprimanding her somehow. Diane rolled her eyes at the wolf.

There was a shriek from inside the village. Diane made to leap forward, but Kanda grabbed the back collar of her Exorcists' jacket.

"What do you think you're doing?" he hissed at her. "You can't just jump in there without thinking! We need a plan!"

"Fine!" she growled impatiently. "I'll go after the Level 2, which'll probably already have the Innocence if there's any, and you clear out all the Level ones. And let go of me!"

Kanda released her, and they stepped into the village. It was almost completely destroyed, all the houses reduced to rubble and only a few smoking buildings were still standing. There were about a hundered or so level ones, floating around like creepy metal balloons. A few hundered feet in front of them, was the Level 2. It had a human-like form,and looked kind like a mideval court jester. It held the glowing Innocence fragment in one hand.

Diane and Kanda looked at each other for a second and nodded, mutual enmity forgotten for the moment. Then Diane ran straight for the Level 2, and Kanda unsheathed Mugen. _I hope I can trust her not to do anything stupid_, Kanda thought.

The akuma's back was to her; it was facing a terrified woman who was trembling, her back against the wall of one of the few still standing buildings. Without a word, Diane activated her Innocence and leaped at the akuma, smashing into it in midair and knocking it aside.

She hit the ground, rolled over, turned back human, standing up.

The akuma also stood back up, grinning eerily at her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? An Exorcist? Well, this'll be fun!"

Shadow appeared out of nowhere and tackled the akuma, sinking his teeth into its arm. But the akuma, being much larger than him, managed to fling him off and into the wall.

"Aw, come on! I'm a Level 2, you'll have to do better than that!"

Diane snapped her fingers twice, and ten wolves formed out of the air, leaping towards the akuma as one. But before they hit him, the akuma grinned and vanished, leaving no more that a puff of mist. However, the Innocence that the akuma was holding hadn't disappeared with him, and was laying on the ground.

"What the hell?" Diane said.

Then a hand appeared out of nowhere and slammed her into the brick wall, pinning her by her throat. The akuma was back.

"Betcha didn't know I could do that, huh? It's a new ability I just learned." The akuma spoke to her, wearing a sickening grin.

"You-" Diane couldn't breathe, and was quickly growing light-headed.

"You're gonna be the first Exorcist I've killed so far! The Earl will be so proud of me!"

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Kanda had already finished off all the Level ones within ten minutes. "Che. I should probably go find the girl," he grumbled to himself.

Arriving back where the Level 2 had been before, he saw Diane pinned to the wall by the akuma. Off to the side, the Innocence was laying on the ground, completely forgotten by the akuma, who was getting ready to kill Diane.

_Should I get the Innocence or save the girl? _Kanda asked himself. _Che. Forget the girl. The Innocence is more important. But…_

_Flashback_

_The 8 year-old girl sat next to him on the bed, green eyes sparkling. "I'm so glad you're my friend, Kanda. I don't know how I would survive in this place without you."_

_Another Flashback_

"_You wanted to speak to me, Komui?" he asked._

"_Yes, right on time. Kanda, you and Diane are going on a mission together to Belgium, where a city has been infested by akuma. You will leave this afternoon at twelve. But please be careful, you two. We really can't afford to lose any more exorcists. And Kanda, promise me that you will look after Diane and make sure no harm comes to her."_

_Kanda glared at Komui. "Che. Why can't I go alone? It's not my job to protect little girls. I'm not a babysitter."_

"_Promise me. It's your duty as a more experienced Exorcist to protect others."_

"_Che…fine."_

_One More Flashback (sorry about all the flashbacks people)_

_The stupid beansprout was on the groud; his arm, not used to its new gun form, had suddenly deactivated, and the akuma was about to kill him. Kanda, although severely injured, jumped up and blocked the akuma's attack with Mugen._

"_I hate naïve people like you," he shouted at Allen, "but I hate people who break their promises even more!"_

_End Flashback(s)_

The akuma still hadn't noticed him, so Kanda lunged forward and stabbed Mugen into its back. The akuma looked surprised for a moment, and the turned to look at Kanda, while slowly disintegrating into dust.

"Damn you…Exorcist."

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Diane slowly opened her eyes. She seemed to by laying on the forest floor. It was nighttime, and the full moon shone brightly above her. A dark figure was sitting under a tall pine tree a few feet away, watching her.

Shadow licked her face. _You okay?_ He asked her with concern.

_I've had worse._ She replied.

"You're awake."

Diane jumped. "Kanda, I'm so sorry I-"

"Sorry? You almost got killed, and cost us the mission!"

"Yeah,well, I'm sorry I was stupid."

"Che. If the akuma had killed you before I got there, it could have gotten away with the Innocence. The Order can't afford any failed missions, especially _now_, when-"

Diane cut him off. "Is that all you care about? The mission?" she snapped. "Don't you have anything else you care about?"

Then, in a softer tone, she continued, "Why do you fight, Kanda? I know Lenalee fights to protect her friends, and Lavi fights as part of his job as a Bookman. I don't know much about Allen, but I believe that he fights to protect people. I fight because akuma killed almost all my family, and I promised myself that I would avenge them, even if it cost me my life. You must have some reason for fighting as an Exorcist, something that you care about."

"Che. None of your business." He looked away from her, glaring at nothing in particular.

Diane sighed. "You're right, I guess it is none of my business."

There was a silence, and then Kanda said, "I have something of yours." From inside his Exorcist's jacket, he pulled out a small, golden locket.

Diane gasped. "Oh my God, you kept it?" He handed it to her, and she fastened it around her neck.

"Thank you," she whispered. Although a tiny part of her was still mad at him, Diane was happier than she knew she had a right to be that Kanda had kept her locket all these years.

"Che."

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**A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! I wrote the first part of this chapter like two or three weeks ago, then I had no idea what to write next. Plus I started a new story. But wow, this is the longest chapter so far.=]**

**Heheh sorry about all the flashbacks. XD They were just to show that Kanda chose to save Diane because he promised Komui to protect her, and he hates people who breaks their promises. And maybe he also had another reason… **

**Oh and the last flashback was from when Kanda saved Allen's life on Allen's first mission, with Lala and Guzol and stuff.**

**Review Please!**


	12. Team Tiedoll

**A/N: Sorry I haven't written anything in a while…I've been really busy.**

**Thanks to ****mimicsmaze****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, and ****Lathya**** for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: Blah blah blah, I still don't own D. Gray-man, etc.**

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**12. Team Tiedoll**

"I'm so bored." Diane complained, during breakfast one morning. It had been a few weeks since her mission with Kanda. Kanda had been sent on another mission, and Lavi, Allen, Lenalee and another Exorcist named Krory had been sent to find General Cross. Which left Diane alone at Headquarters, along with a new Exorcist named Miranda, bored out of her mind.

_Are you going to eat that? _Shadow asked.

"You can have it," she grumbled, pushing her plate of food towards him. "Stupid Komui. He sends everyone else out on missions and keeps me stuck here. This is so boring!"

_Missing your Prince Charming? _Diane could've sworn Shadow was smirking at her.

"Shut up."

"Excuse me? Miss Diane Elkridge?" a Finder asked. "Komui wants to see you."

"Yes!" Diane shouted, jumping up ecstatically and running out of the cafeteria.

"Well, she seems happy," the Finder remarked to no one in particular.

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"You wanted to see me, Komui?" Diane asked, entering Komui's extremely messy office.

"Ah, yes. Diane, have you ever heard of the Innocence Heart?"

"Isn't that the Innocence that supplies power for all the others? And if it's destroyed, all the other Innocences will be, too?"

"Yes. And the Millenium Earl is searching for it. If he finds it, we are all doomed. And as the Heart could be currently used by an Accomodator, the Earl seems to think it is being used by an Exorcist of great strength. He is targeting the Generals. General Kevin Yeegar has already been killed. Therefore, we are dividing up all the Exorcists into groups, to protect the Generals. You, Kanda, Daisya, and Marie have been assigned to protect General Tiedoll.

Diane's eyes lit up. "Really? Awesome, I haven't seen Daisya or Marie in forever!"

"Diane," Komui said, uncharacteristically stern. "You must make sure nothing happens to the General at all costs. Protect him with your life."

"Of course, Komui. Tiedoll was like a father to me. You know I'd never let anything happen to him."

"Good."

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Diane and Shadow were walking through a city somewhere near Spain, Diane's new golem flapping after them.

"So…we're supposed to meet Kanda and Daisya in one of these restaurants…what was the name of it again?" Diane asked.

_I don't know. _Shadow replied.

"Gee, thanks. You're such a big help," she said sarcastically.

_A few minutes later_

"There!" Diane pointed to the window of a restaurant, where two familiar people were sitting. The first, who was short, with a black hood covering his head, she had not seen in a long time. The other was taller, with blue-black hair pulled back in a long ponytail.

_Inside the restaurant_

"So, your mission went pretty well, didn't it, Kanda?" Daisya asked his old friend.

"Che."

"I can tell because you always seem more arrogant than usual when one of your missions goes well." Daisya smirked.

"Shut up, idiot."

Daisya noticed someone on the other side of the room. "Hey, is that-"

"Daisya!" Diane called, making her way across the room to give him a hug. "I've missed you." (**A/N: Daisya was with Tiedoll when Diane began her apprenticeship with Tiedoll, but he soon left to receive his own missions from Headquarters. It's been almost two years since they last saw each other.**)

"It's great to see you again, Diane," he replied.

Diane turned to Kanda. "Hey, Kanda. Long time no see." She grinned at him.

"Che. Took you long enough to get here."

She ignored this. "So, what's our plan from here?" she asked Daisya brightly.

"We're meeting up with Marie, and they heading to Barcelona, where the General was last seen. There's an infestation of akuma in that city."

Diane grinned wickedly, revealing abnormally sharp canine teeth.

"Sounds like fun."

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_Later that night_

"You like her, don't you?" Daisya asked Kanda. They were staying at an inn for the night, before heading to Barcelona the next day.

"Che. Shut up."

"Oh, so you do like her."

"If you value your life, don't ever talk to me about that girl again!" If looks could kill, Daisya would be dead and buried. (**A/N: Yes, I know that phrase is really cliché, but I love it anyways.**)

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone your secret." Daisya grinned.

Suddenly Daisya found Mugen pointed at his face.

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**A/N: Sorry, that was a pretty short chapter. I've never written Daisya before, and it was pretty fun to do. I think he seemed kinda like Lavi.**

**Review!!! ^_^**


	13. Barcelona

**A/N: Hopefully this chapter will be longer than the last one…**

**Thanks to ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****lighttheway****, and ****Lathya**** for reviewing! You guys are awesome! ^_^**

**I don't quite remember the exact order the events that happened in Barcelona, and I'm too lazy to check, so please disregard any errors in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned D. Gray-man, Daisya wouldn't have been killed mid-series right after there was an anime episode all about his past…I mean, why explain his past if you're just going to kill him next episode? XD**

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**13. Barcelona**

Diane and Shadow, along with Kanda, Daisya, and Marie, who they had met up with a few days ago, headed towards Barcelona, where Tiedoll was last reported to be seen. In the distance, they could see the outline of the large Spanish city.

Diane stretched and yawned. "It's too early to be up," she complained.

"Shut up and stop complaining. We need to find Tiedoll as soon as possible," Kanda snapped. "I thought you were the one who actually cared about that old man."

Diane shut up.

_A few minutes later, inside the city_

"Where is everyone? This place is completely deserted!" Daisya exclaimed. Indeed, throughout the whole city, not one person was to be seen.

The wind suddenly picked up, a chilly breeze blowing in from the north.

Diane raised her head, sniffing the air. Marie suddenly became still, listening intently. The two spoke at the same time.

"Akumas."

"What? Where?" Daisya asked.

"There still far away," Marie replied.

"And there's loads of them," added Diane. She sneezed. "Ugh, they smell _horrible_."

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Diane and Shadow were completely surrounded by akuma. The group had decided to split up, and destroy all the akuma before continuing their search for Tiedoll, who had most likely already left the city.

There were at least a hundred of them, mostly level ones and 2 level twos.

"This is all?" Diane murmured to Shadow. "We'll make quick work of them."

_This should be fun_, he replied.

"Innocence, Activate!" she yelled. The cross on her forehead glowed gold, and seven wolves materialized out of the air, as the akumas all started firing.

_Stupid akuma actually think they can hit me with their bullets_, she thought to herself, as her body began to change into a wolf's. _Those things are way too slow to hit me._

She and Shadow each leapt for one of the level twos, as the illusion wolves began destroying the others.

The akuma she had chosen was shaped like a giant snake, with a creepy-looking human face on its forehead. On that face was the trademark pentacle of the akuma.

The akuma opened its mouth, and shot glowing gold bullets at her, which she dodged easily, while running towards it. It lunged toward her, with the lightning-fast speed of a real snake. However, Diane was faster, her strength and agility faster than any normal animal, as it was greatly enhanced by her Innocence. She fastened her jaws in the monster's neck and sharply tore its head off.

Looking over at Shadow, she wagged her tail happily seeing that he had also destroyed the other level two. All the level one akumas were also nowhere to be seen.

_Akumas are getting boring_, Shadow commented. _They're too easy to kill_.

Diane turned back human, and grinned. "You're right. We need some stronger akumas to fight." Distantly, she could hear the sounds of her friends' battles. "We should probably get some shelter, and see what's up with the others.

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Diane and Shadow sat on the ground in one of the city's many narrow alleys, with their golem flapping in front of them.

"Hey *zzzt* wha- *crackle*" Daisya's voice came out of the golem, accompanied by loud static.

"You sound horrible, Daisya." That was Marie's voice.

"Sorry, my wireless golem has been acting weird lately."

"Where are you guys right now?" Kanda asked.

"About 3 kilometers east of that odd tower," said Daisya.

"I'm about 5 kilometers west of it," Marie added.

"I'm 2 kilometers north," Daine said, and Shadow barked in agreement.

"Che. I'm to the south." Kanda sounded annoyed, as usual.

"Looks like it's *zzzzt* going to be a long night," Daisya said.

"I can hear the noises of the akuma here and there…there's still a lot more of them. Looks like we've entered their gathering place," Marie added.

"Let's regroup. If we're within a 10 km radius, we should be able to use our golems to find each other's locations."

"Then, all of us *crackle* will meet up at the tower, okay?"

"When?"

"At dawn."

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Kanda stepped out of the alleyway and found akumas all around him. He drew his sword from is sheath.

"Let's go, Mugen."

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Daisya face the akuma, grinning widely. He snatched the bell that contained his Innocence off the tip of his hood.

"Charity bell, Activate!" he shouted, kicking it at the akuma like a soccer ball. It shot straight through the akuma's forehead.

The akuma looked shocked for a moment, a tiny smoking hole now in the center of its forehead. But nothing else seemed to happen, and the akuma sneered. "A tiny bell like that isn't going to kill me."

There was suddenly a loud ringing soud, that seemed to come from the akuma's head.

"W-what the hell?" the akuma screeched, holding its head in pain.

"Don't underestimate this 'tiny bell,'" Daisya said. "It will destroy you from the inside by using sound waves."

The sound grew louder, and the akuma exploded, along with several others in the vicinity.

"That was too easy," he muttered. Seeing the faraway shapes of more akuma in the distance, he kicked his Charity Bell through a wall. Stepping through the hole into another street, he was surprised to see a tall, elegant looking gentleman walking towards him.

The man looked as surprised as anyone would if a random person suddenly blew a hole a wall as they were walking down a street.

"An exorcist?..." he said to himself, seeing Daisya's uniform. (**A/N: Well we all knows what happens now… **)

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Kanda, Marie, Diane, and Shadow all froze and stopped fighting momentarily, listening to a strange voice come out of their golems.

"Killing *zzzzzat* exorcists is so fun *crackle*"

"Eh? What did you say, Daisya?" Marie asked.

"Daisya?" Diane sounded worried. "What's going on?"

There was no reply.

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_A few hours later, at dawn_

Kanda and Marie stood under a short tunnel at the base of the tower, waiting. Neither of them had heard anything more from Daisya.

Two large wolves appeared out of the darkness. Both bore numerous cuts and scratches. A flash of gold light, and Diane appeared.

Her uniform was covered in blood. Whether it was her own or an akuma's, Kanda could not tell. She swayed slightly, then leaned against the wall for support.

"You're injured," Kanda remarked.

"I'm fine!" She snapped.

"Don't lie. You can barely stand up."

"I'm just a little dizzy, that's all."

Marie decided to interrupt before the argument got out of hand. "Diane, if you're injured, please don't pretend you're not. We don't want you to pass out from blood loss."

"Don't worry about me. It'll heal soon."

"What are you talking about?" Kanda hissed. "You're seriously injured, it's not going to heal anytime soon!"

Diane sighed. "Look, whenever I'm injured, my Innocence draws energy from Shadow and uses it to heal my wounds. It's not something I can control, but it always happens. Whenever one of us is seriously injured, we draw energy from one another to heal."

Kanda and Marie looked surprised.

_I never knew that about her_, Kanda thought. _So she heals fast, just like me._ _Well, at least she won't be a burden for the rest of the journey. We don't have time to care for an injured girl_.

They suddenly noticed a distinct flapping noise coming from somewhere. Daisya's golem flew up to them. It hovered in front of them for a few seconds, then flew off in the direction it had come from.

_Shit, this is bad..._ Diane thought.

They followed the golem until it reached a tall lamp post. Hanging from it in chains was Daisya's body.

Diane screamed in horror, and ran up to the lamp post. She sank to her knees below his body.

"Daisya…I'm so sorry." She felt like crying, but no tears would come. For Diane had already used up all her tears, on her foster parents, and the wolves who had died to protect her. Daisya was just the latest on the list of her family and friends that had been killed in this war.

Marie, standing behind her, looked heartbroken at the death of his longtime friend and companion. "I'll miss you, Daisya," he murmured.

Kanda's face was stony and unreadable. _Who killed you, Daisya?_

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_A few days later_

A tall man, looking to be in his fifties or sixties, walked along the sunny coastline of Spain. His hair was messy, and he wore the gold-trimmed uniform of a General of the Black Order. He was sketching a picture of the beatiful scenery while walking, when he heard a voice call from behind him.

"General."

He turned to see three of his old students: Marie, Kanda, and Diane.

"General Tiedoll!" Diane squealed, running up to him and hugging him tightly. He laughed and ruffled her hair, as Kanda looked on disgustedly.

"Hello, my daughter," he said. Shadow licked his hand, and Tiedoll reached down to pat his head.

Looking at the others, he said, "Marie and Yuu! Long time no see."

"Please don't call me that, General," Kanda said through clenched teeth.

Tiedoll ignored this. "But where is Daisya?"

"Daisya had been killed," Kanda said bluntly. "His body was shipped back to headquarters yesterday, and his Innocence was taken as well."

Tears formed in Tiedoll's eyes. "I see…so Daisya is dead." He sniffled. "He was such a good kid…he loved to play pranks on me, and used to break my glasses with his Charity Bell."

Kanda looked irritated. "General, I request that you return with us to Headquarters."

"Daisya was from Bodrum, right?" Tiedoll asked, ignoring Kanda.

Marie looked surprised. "Ah, yes."

"It's a lovely town on the Aegean Sea," Tiedoll remarked, getting out his sketchpad and starting to draw. Marie, Kanda, and Diane looked nonplussed.

"General," Kanda continued, "the enemy is targeting you and the Innocence you possess."

Tiedoll continued to draw. "This is just a drawing of my memories there, so it probably won't be accurate, but…" He tore the paper off the pad; on it was a beautiful illustration of a town by the sea.

"Daisya…I'm sorry it's just a drawing, but I'm sending your home to you. May you rest in peace…" He struck a match, and burned the picture, letting the ashes blow away in the wind.

"I can't return," he said, finally answering Kanda. "We're in the middle of a war now, and I will fullfill my duties as General. Also, I need to find new Exorcists. If God hasn't abandoned us yet, I'm certain he will send us new disciples."

"I knew he was going to say that," Kanda muttered quietly.

"Right, that's so typical of him," Diane whispered, sighing in exasperation.

"We will accompany you, General Tiedoll."

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**A/N: Yay for longer chapters! This took **_**such**_** a long time to write. I hope you liked it! A lot of it was taken directly from the manga. Hehe I just love how Tiedoll keeps ignoring Kanda when he's trying to talk about their mission and stuff and starts drawing.**

**R.I.P. Daisya. We'll miss you! :'(**

**Thank you ****Kaytlyn Hue**** and ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx**** for all the support you guys give me!**

**Review Please!** **^_^**


	14. The Road to Edo

**A/N: OMG, I have 50 reviews!!! Wow, I never expected that many when I first started this story…thank you everyone!**

**Yeah, I know I haven't updated in almost 2 months…sorry about that. Tennis season has started, and I have practice EVERY day so I don't have any time to And yeah, this is kinda just a filler chapter. But don't worry, there'll be more action coming soon.**

**Thanks to ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****, ****Ms. Lightfairyprincess****, ****lighttheway****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, and ****Lathya**** for reviewing the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Although I really wish I did, I still don't own D. Gray-man.**

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**14. The Road to Edo**

"Where the hell are we?" Kanda asked.

Tiedoll scratched his head in confusion, looking over his map. "We should have reached the town hours ago, according to this map."

It was currently around 10 o'clock at night, and General Tiedoll, Marie, Kanda, Diane, and Shadow were lost in a forest somewhere in mountainous Germany. After they had caught up with Tiedoll back in Spain, they were headed to Edo, Japan. Tiedoll had told them he had 'business' to do there, but wouldn't inform them what it was.

They had been walking through this dark, creepy forest for hours, searching for the town that was shown on the map, but finding no sign of human life.

"I could ask for directions, if you'd like," Diane offered helpfully.

"Oh, that would be a great help," Kanda growled sarcastically. "Who are you planning to ask, the trees?"

She gave him a dirty look. "No. I'm going to ask the wolves."

With a flash of golden light, Diane transformed into a wolf. She raced ahead a few hundered feet, to where the ground fell sharply away in a tall cliff. She could see all around them for miles. Raising her head to the moon, she howled. Shadow, appearing behind her, also raised his voice with hers.

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A few miles away, a wolf pack was returning home after a night's hunting. It had been a good night. They had taken down a large, old elk, and the whole pack had eaten its fill. Approaching their den site, the wolves heard a distant howl break the night's silence. They stopped to listen to the message.

_We're traveling through here, and have gotten lost. Does anyone know the way to the closest human town? _

The pack stopped to answer her call.

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General Tiedoll and his two former disciples heard Diane and Shadow through the trees.

"What the hell is she doing?" Kanda grumbled.

"I think she's trying to communicate with the other wolves here…" Marie said.

A few seconds passed in silence, and then Marie heard the far-off voices of the wolf pack, unheard by the others.

"They're answering her!" he exclaimed in wonder.

Diane and Shadow appeared back in front of the others.

"The town is five miles west of here," she said cheerfully. "We'll be there soon."

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The group ended up camping in the forest that night because it was too dark to see where they were going, much to Kanda's annoyance. But early the next morning, they reached the town the wolves had informed Diane and Shadow of. The seemed pretty wealthy, despite its being in the middle of nowhere, with a big iron gate leading into it. Flanking either side of the gate were two armed guards.

"Halt," called one of the guards, as the Exorcists approached them. "There is a quarantine in effect on this village. You four may pass through, but that filthy animal of yours is not allowed."

_Filthy animal?_ Shadow growled, offended. Diane looked like she wanted to punch the guard in the face.

Marie laid a hand on her shoulder. "Now, don't do anything rash, Diane," he warned her. The group retreated a few paces, out of earshot of the guards.

"Well, we have quite a dilemma here, don't we? We can't leave Shadow behind, but he's not allowed in the village," Tiedoll said thoughfully.

"Dilemma?" Diane growled. "Why don't we just knock out the guards?" Shadow barked in agreement.

_Great idea. We'll see who's the 'filthy animal' once I rip their throats out._

_Violent today, are we?_ Diane asked him.

_Always._

"I'm sure there's no need for violence, my dear." Tiedoll said to Diane. "Your skills should only be used on akuma, not humans."

"Well, maybe they are akuma. You never know. Please can we knock them out? I promise I won't kill them."

"No, and that's final," Tiedoll ordered sternly.

Diane sighed. Sometimes, she could see why Kanda was always so impatient with Tiedoll. _Well, I guess we'll have to do it the other way._

_Please don't tell me you're thinking what I think you're thinking_, Shadow begged her.

_Well, do you have a better plan?_ Diane asked. There was no reply.

"Kanda, do you have a spare set of clothes?" Diane asked suddenly.

"What?" Kanda looked at Diane like she'd lost her mind.

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, but why the hell-"

Diane grabbed Kanda's suitcase out of his hand, and started rummaging through it. She picked out a white dress shirt and a pair of black pants, then threw them to Shadow, who caught them in his teeth and ran off through the trees before Kanda could do anything.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kanda snapped.

"Oh, you'll see."

_God, she is so infuriating,_ Kanda thought to himself. _Her fucking _dog_ just stole my clothes!_

Two minutes later, a teenage boy walked up to them. He had messy, black hair and bright green eyes, a cross-shaped mark on his forehead, and was wearing a white dress shirt and black pants. He could've been Diane's twin.

"What the hell…?" Kanda looked shocked, which didn't happen often. Even Tiedoll looked surprised. Marie only seemed slightly confused, hearing another set of footsteps come up from behind them but not seeing the person standing there.

"What's the matter, don't recognize me, human?" He smirked.

"Shadow? Is that you, m'boy?" Tiedoll asked.

"Of course it is. Who else could I be?"

Tiedoll and Kanda turned to stare at Diane. Marie looked even more confused.

"What's going on?" He asked Kanda.

"Apparently, her dog turns into a human," Kanda replied, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"Watch you mouth, human," Shadow growled at him. "I'm a _wolf_, not a _dog_. Just because Diane likes you doesn't mean I-"

Diane punched him in the arm. "Shut up!"

"Would you care to explain, my dear?" Tiedoll asked.

"Well, what is there to explain?" Diane said. "One day I had this idea that if I could turn into a wolf with my Innocence activated, maybe Shadow could turn into a human, too. And I was right. Like I usually am."

"Yeah, right," Shadow mumbled.

"Interesting…how come you never told me about this before, dear?" Tiedoll inquired.

Diane shrugged. "It just never came up."

Shadow yawned. "Let's go. The sooner we make it out of this village, the less time I have to spend as a human."

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**A/N: So…yeah. Shadow can turn into a human. I know a lot of people are probably thinking the same thing as Kanda: "What the hell?" It's just a random thing I thought of, because I wanted to try to develop Shadow's character more. And they'll be in Edo next chapter, so things well hopefully get more interesting. Well, hope you liked it!**

**Review!**


	15. Edo:The Fight Begins

**A/N: Sorry, I tried to update as fast as I could this time, unfortunately I don't have that much time for writing because of tennis practice almost every day. But this chapter is pretty long, and I hope you enjoy it!**

**As always, thanks to all my reviewers: ****Starforce119****, ****xNorix****, ****lighttheway****, ****Lucifer's Lament****, ****Lathya****, ****aviantei****, and ****Kaytlyn Hue****!**

**Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own D. Gray-man…*sigh***

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**15. Edo: The Fight Begins**

The cherry trees alongside the road were in full bloom, and the air was thick with flower petals. As one pink petal blew past, carried by the wind, a hand reached out and snatched it out of the air. After a moment, Diane sighed and released the petal, watching as it swirled away on the breeze along with millions of other. Team Tiedoll had arrived in Japan at last.

"This place is so beautiful, it's hard to believe it's overrun with akuma," she remarked softly. But the Exorcists had already seen the extent of the akuma infestation in Japan firsthand. They had watched, hidden from sight, as two Level 3 akumas had devoured a helpless Level 2. Diane had almost felt bad for the akuma being eaten alive, before remembering that that akuma had probably killed hundreds of innocent people.

"Che. It's nothing special," Kanda grumbled, seemingly oblivious to the beauty around them.

"Oh, you grew up around here, didn't you, Kanda?" Diane asked, and received a glare in reply. Kanda wasn't fond of talking about his childhood. In fact, Diane realized that she knew nothing at all about his past, before he came to the Order.

"We'll be arriving in Edo soon," announced the modified Level 2 akuma that Cross had sent to 'help' them. Diane growled silently. The modified akuma had been traveling with them for the past few days. Even though she knew it had been modified by General Cross to do his bidding, Diane still couldn't stand being near it. She had been itching to destroy it ever since it had joined them.

The group walked for a few more minutes, before they reached the top of a hill, and saw the city of Edo spread out before them. But it wasn't a peaceful sight. In the distance, alongside the tiny houses and buildings, they could see several giant, humanoid akumas roaming the city. And, above the buildings, there was a large tower, seemingly floating in midair.

"Marie?" General Tiedoll asked. "What can you hear?"

"Well, apart from the giant killing machines, I can hear the voices of the Lenalee, Lavi, Bookman, and the rest of Cross's group. There are also several more human voices that I don't recognize.

There was a silence.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Tiedoll asked. "Go on and help them."

In less than a second, Kanda, Marie, Diane, and Shadow were gone, leaving only clouds of dust behind them.

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"What the hell are you doing?" Bookman snapped at his grandson furiously. "You said you were going to beat the shit out of him! Get a hold of yourself, you idiot!"

"Ugh," Lavi groaned. "I'm aching all over. It should be illegal to be that strong…" he was lying in the rubble of a destroyed house, covered in dust and various wounds.

"You're not doing too well either, old man."

"Shut up! I'm older than you are!"

With a sigh, Lavi stood up to begin another round of his fight with Tyki Mikk, but the Noah was nowhere to be found.

He looked around for a second, confused, before a sudden thought struck him.

"Lenalee!"

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"Miranda! Are you all right?" Lenalee asked Miranda, shaking her frantically. Lenalee, Miranda, and the three crewmen from Anita's ship were on the roof of a house, where they had been protected by Miranda's power until she suddenly fainted.

"Out of energy?" came a voice from behind her. An arm fastened around Lenalee's neck, shocking her.

"A female Exorcist, eh? I've never seen one before," the smooth voice said. "Is this scrawny looking woman okay? Did she wear herself out?" he asked, nodding to Miranda, who was lying unconscious by their feet.

"Woman should die elegantly, without a fuss," he said.

From behind them, one of Anita's crewmen rushed at the man and threw a punch at him. But his fist slid through the man's chest as if it weren't there.

"Let go of the Exorcist, you monster!" he screamed.

"Chaoji…don't…" Lenalee pleaded.

The man turned to look at him uninterestedly.

"You're boring me. Teez, devour him." He started glowing with power.

"Chaoji!" his crewmates shouted.

But before Chaoji could be eaten alive by the Teez butterflies, a sword sliced up through the roof between the man's feet. He jumped out of the way just in time, still holding on to Lenalee.

With a loud crash and a flash of light, half the roof of the house was blown off.

The Noah, Tyki Mikk, grinned. "We're getting a lot of guests today."

Kanda stood before Tyki, with a glare that would have sent most people running away screaming. He leapt at Tyki, sword moving so fast it was just a blur.

_Whoa_, Tyki though, jumping out of the way. _This one's fast_. "Sorry about this, miss," he said to Lenalee before releasing her. She fell about 5 feet before Kanda caught her in his arms.

A flare of purplish light, another attack, was coming towards them, only to be blocked by Lavi and his hammer, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yo, boss!" he chirped, in that annoyingly way-too-cheerful way of his. "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Che. What the hell are you all doing?"

"Oh, well, it kinda looks like our general has work to do in Edo. How about you?"

"The same, I guess."

Suddenly, the grotesque face of a huge akuma loomed over them. But as it was about to attack, it let out a screeching cry. Its body was contorted strangely in midair, and it seemed to be in pain. Lavi and Kanda started at it.

"What's wrong with that thing?" Lavi asked, looking disgusted.

"Hmm? He's caught in Marie's strings, obviously," came the arrogant reply. "The melody he plays with them is poison to the akuma."

Marie was standing on a nearby rooftop.

"Noel Organon!" he shouted. "Melody of grief!"

From the air above them came a soft melody, both beautiful and sorrowful at the same time. The akuma contorted in pain.

"Mugen," Kanda said, his sword glowing blue. "Double illusion sword!" The one sword became two, both glowing with power.

Kanda leaped upward, jumping across Marie's strings.

"Be careful, Yuu!" Lavi shouted. "That akuma is really…"

Kanda sliced clean through the akuma's head, splitting it in half.

"…strong." Lavi finished weakly.

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Bookman and Krory had been watching all this from the ground.

"That Kanda's gotten stronger," Bookman remarked to himself.

"Kanda?" Krory said in wonder. "What an amazing kid…"

"It's a big help," Bookman added, "especially with all these injured people on our side.

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"Hey, you," Kanda growled at Lavi.

"Y-yes?" Lavi stuttered.

"Don't you dare call me by my first name again, or I'll cut you up!"

Lavi shivered. _Just like always…he's so scary…_

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Meanwhile, Diane and Shadow were dealing with a giant akuma of their own.

Knowing that Kanda and Marie would protect the members of Cross's group if they needed it, Diane had headed straight for the other akuma, a few hundred years away from the others. She could never resist a challenge, especially when it came to destroying akuma.

Being so large, the akuma hadn't noticed the two Exorcists beneath It yet.

"Hmm…this thing is too large to attack the normal way," she mused. "I'm guessing its weak spot is its head and neck, so we'll need to get up there somehow…"

Diane grinned suddenly. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked Shadow.

_Most definitely_, he thought.

She beamed at him in excitement. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time…"

"Innocence-full activation!"

Both Diane and Shadow's bodies began glowing with raw power. Jagged, golden light rose up from their two forms, higher and higher into the sky. The two bodies, wolf and human, already blurred by the bright light, began to fade from view until they had vanished completely. Thirty feet up in the air, the two beams of golden light began to merge into one. The light began to change, to solidify, almost, into a monstrous, four-legged creature that was as large as the akuma. It was impossible to tell exactly what it was, as the creature seemed to be made of that golden light, and had no distinguishable features apart from a head, four legs, and a tail. But, one could probably guess what it was.

The giant, golden wolf leapt towards the akuma, a blur of light. Before the akuma even registered that it was in danger, the wolf fastened its glowing jaws around the akuma's neck and tore its head off with one quick jerk. Slowly, with an almost surreal slowness, the body toppled to the ground, smashing several more houses to rubble.

The wolf raised its head to the sky and gave a blood-chilling howl of victory. Then, the animal's golden light began to dim, and its shape collapsed inward, becoming one tall beam of light that quickly shrunk and separated into two before vanishing completely, leaving two bodies on the ground.

Diane rolled onto her back to stare up at the night sky. "Whoa…now _that_ was awesome."

Shadow, on the ground next to her, licked her face. _Yeah, that akuma was no match for us, huh?_

"Definitely." It took all of her remaining strength to push herself into sitting position. _Damn, I'm so tired._

"We should probably be getting back to see how the others are doing," Diane sighed. It felt like her muscles had all turned to mush.

There was a moment of silence, and neither of them made an effort to get up.

_Five more minutes_, Shadow groaned.

They sat there for a little while longer before Diane started feeling a growing sense of dark power coming from somewhere.

"Hey, Shadow…I think something is going on back there…"

Feeling a sudden apprehension, Diane jumped to her feet. From the strange tower that they had previously noticed floating over the city, a black hole was forming.

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**A/N: Okay, sorry about the crappy ending. I wanted the chapter to end right about there, and couldn't think of a better way to do it. And, my apologies if the Diane/Shadow full activation thing confused you…I'm not great at describing stuff. Oh, and by the way, the reason the full activation doesn't affect Diane and Shadow the same way it did Allen and Lenalee (they almost died) is because, combined, they have 100% synchro with their Innocence, when Allen and Lenalee didn't. Reviews would be great! ^_^**


	16. Into the Ark

**A/N: Just letting everyone know, I'm NOT dead (woohoo), and I'm sorry it's been such a long time since my last update. XD I've had tons of school work, with final exams and everything. But I'm on summer vacation now!!! Yay!**

**Thanks to ****Starforce119****, ****Kaytlyn Hue****, ****xXDeath-N'-HellXx****, ****lighttheway****, ****Lathya****, ****Suicidal-Despair****, ****Izumo Kamizuki****, and ****Dancing Spirit**** for reviewing!**

**And ****Kaytlyn Hue**** has drawn an amazing picture of Diane and Shadow, go check it out!**

**http : // diamondsnake. deviantart. com/ art/ Request-Diane-and-Shadow- 124973286 (take out the spaces)**

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**16. Into the Ark**

Diane's eyes fluttered open, and she sat up slowly.

_Ugh…what just happened?_

_I have no idea, _Shadow muttered from beside her.

The air was filled with a thick mist, making it difficult to see very far. But as far as Diane could tell, everything was gone. All of Edo had vanished-the houses, rubble, akumas, everything.

"Crap, what happened to the city?" she exclaimed.

_It seems to have vanished_, Shadow offered.

"Oh, thanks a lot, Captain Obvious," Diane snapped.

That was when a blinding flash of light suddenly split the sky in half.

The two could make out a large shape floating high above their heads, but were unable to tell what it was.

"What the hell…" Diane muttered. Then she realized something. "Shit! Where is everyone?"

She sprang to her feet and started running in no particular direction, calling, "Kanda! Marie! Anyone?"

_Hey! _Shadow called after her. _Stop running, you don't know where you're going and you're going to get lost!_

"Yeah, real hard to get lost when there's nothing here!" Then she spotted a figure in the distance. A tall figure with bright red hair…

"Lavi!" she cried, running towards him.

He looked up, face breaking into a grin.

"Diane!" he exclaimed. "Glad to see you're okay." Shadow growled at him. "Nice to see you too, Wolfy," he added.

_Wolfy? What the hell- _Shadow's thought was cut off by a yell from Diane.

"Allen! Oh my god, I heard what happened to you; I'm so glad you're okay!" Allen was standing a few feet away, with Lenalee unconscious in his arms. "And what happened to Lenalee? Is she okay?"

Allen smiled at her. "I'm just fine, Diane. And as for Lenalee, I'm not exactly sure what happened to her. Her innocence just acted on its own accord, forming some sort of shield to protect her."

"It's happened before," Lavi added. "On the ship, after she fought the Level 3."

"An equipment-type Innocence acting on its own..." Diane mused. "How is that possible?"

_Maybe she's the Heart_, Shadow thought.

"Yeah that's a possibility…" Diane replied aloud.

"What's a possibility?" Lavi asked.

"That Lenalee could be the Heart."

There was a silence as all four Exorcists thought that over.

"Die!" another voice suddenly shouted, breaking the silence. A black katana suddenly appeared out of nowhere, slicing through the air towards Allen's face.

Allen blocked it with his left arm, and there was a clang as metal hit metal.

"What-" As the mist cleared, he could now see the peron who had just tried to kill him.

"K-Kanda?" he stuttered.

"Beansprout?" Kanda growled. What the hell are you doing here?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" Allen snapped, uncharacteristically rude.

"I was fighting that Noah with the curly hair! Hey, rabbit, did you see him?"

"Huh?" Lavi looked around, confused. "Oh yeah, and that big guy I wass fighting with earlier…all the Noah are gone…"

"Che." Kanda glared at Allen.

"What? Why are you glaring at me?" Allen asked.

"You let them get away!"

"They got away because you're so slow, Kanda!"

"What did you say?! How dare you say that when you're the one who came in late, Beansprout."

"It's Allen, how many times must I tell you that? Oh nevermind, I forgot. Not only are you slow, but you're also slow-witted."

"I'll show you who's slow-witted! I'll shave off that white hair of yours and sell it to old geezers!"

"Black hair would sell for a higher price!"

"Hey! Calm down, you two," Lavi said, before a fight could break out.

"Shut up or I'll shave you too!" they both snapped at the same time.

"Um…" Lavi backed away, looking nervous.

"What's up with those two?" asked Diane, who was watching the argument with a bemused expression.

"What? Oh, wait, you've never been with those two at the same time, have you?"

She shook her head. (**A/N: During the time that Diane met Allen, Lavi, and Lenalee, Kanda was on a mission, so she's naver actually heard Allen and Kanda argue before.**)

"Well, they're always like that," Lavi said with a shrug.

"Wow, and I thought he argued with _me_ a lot."

_Later_

The eleven Exorcists and three men from Anita's crew were sitting underneath a bridge on the ouutskirts of Edo, that fortunately hadn't been destroyed by the Earl's attack. Most of them were gathered around the still unconscious Lenalee, with the exception of Kanda, who was sitting off to the side as usual. He stared out at the empty landscape that was once Edo with an unreadable expression, Shadow was sprawled out on the ground, fast asleep, a few feet away from him.

"Modified akuma…a factory plant…and Noah's ark, eh?" Tiedoll mused. "I only came to Japan to find more accomodators. I don't care at all about helping that man."

_The General must really dislike Cross…he's usually so kind and caring of everyone_, Diane thought.

"He only thinks of others as tools, you know," Tiedoll continued. "You were supposed to be his guards, but he and his modified akumas used you as decoys, understand?"

"Yes," Bookman replied. "We received his warning, but came anyway. It's pretty much what we expected."

"I think it would be best for Cross's group to withdraw from the battlefield," Tiedoll said.

Lavi looked shocked. "What?"

"You want us to pull back without fighting?" Allen asked.

"As of now, I don't think the time is right for fighting the Millennium Earl. Currently, the only living Exorcists in the world are Hevlaska, Zokalo, Cloud, Cross, and the eleven of us here. As disciples, isn't it your duty to survive until the time comes? In times of hardship, isn't a tactical retreat the best choice?"

There was a silence following Tiedoll's rather depressing speech.

Then Lavi finally spoke up. "Do we move forward…or withdraw?" he asked his comrades. "But, General Tiedoll, we've heard these words before. And, we decided, that no matter how badly we were beaten, we would still forge ahead." Lavi smiled.

"That's right!" Krory exclaimed.

"We wish to keep going!" said Miranda.

"Us, too!" Chaoji added, speaking for his crew mates.

Tiedoll sighed. "And you want this, too, I presume?" he asked Allen.

Allen smiled. "Yes. I want to keep moving forward."

"Che. Do you really plan on going?" Kanda snapped.

"Of course. We need to get moving quickly, before it's too late," said Krory.

"Idiots." He growled. "Well, if you end up dying, it will be your own fault."

"We won't know until we try."

Diane grinned. "Exactly. Don't be such a pessimist, Kanda. Fighting akuma is fun. And even if we die, we'll go down fighting."

Kanda glared at her. "You're such a naïve little girl. This isn't meant to be _fun_."

Diane narrowed her eyes. She hated being called a 'little girl.' As she opened her mouth to say something back to him, probably something very rude and containing more than a few swearwords, Shadow suddenly yawned widely, revealing inch-long canine teeth.

_Are you and Loverboy arguing again? And why are we all lazing about here, when we should be destroying akuma?_

Diane turned her attention away from Kanda to glare at Shadow instead.

"Shut up! And who're you to talk about being lazy, when you're the one who's been snoring for the past half hour?!"

_Excuse me? Wolves don't snore!_

Everyone was staring at Diane when Lenalee unexpectedly stirred. Slowly, her eyes opened.

"A-Allen…" she whispered.

"Lenalee." He knelt down on the ground next to her. "I'm sorry."

"What do you need to apologize for, Allen? If this is about Suman…you've saved him, Allen. He didn't die in vain. Suman's heart was surely…saved by you." Slowly, she reached up and placed her hand on his cheek.

"Welcome back, Allen."

"Back…I'm back, Lenalee," he whispered, as if he hadn't quite believed it until this point. A single tear dripped down his face.

"Aww, look, he's crying," Lavi teased.

Allen blushed, glaring at Lavi.

Lenalee smile. "You cried too, on the boat, Lavi."

"What? No I didn't-"

A sudden crackle of static filled the air. A black pentacle formed on the ground beneath Lenalee, growing bigger and bigger, until a hole opened up under her, glowing with purple light. An odd looking pumpkin poked its head out of the hole. "We've got you now, Exorcist!" it cackled.

With a gasp, Lenalee felt herself sinking into the hole.

"No!" Allen reached forward to grab her hand, just as it slipped out of sight.

"Lenalee!" he cried, diving into the hole after her without hesitation.

"Allen!" Lavi shouted, trying to grab him but falling into the hole as well. Chaoji jumped in after them, as Tiedoll shouted, "It's Lee they're after! Stop them!" Kanda also dove into the hole, followed by Krory.

_Sorry, Master_, Diane thought as she jumped in after their comrades, followed closely by Shadow.

As their forms vanished into the light, the hole shrank and disappeared.

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**A/N: So, I hoped you like it! This was a fun chapter to write, although much of the dialogue came directly from the manga. I'm going to be leaving for vacation July 17****th**** and won't be back until the middle of August, so there might not be any updates for a while, but I'm going to make sure I update at least one of my fics before I leave. It might be this one, or it might not be. Depends on what I feel like writing.**

**As always, please review! ^_^**


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